


Fallen Paths

by Fireteam_Russian_Roulette



Series: Fireteam Russian Roulette [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Childbirth, F/F, Fallen | Eliksni, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:13:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 145,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette
Summary: A twist on my other story, It WAS a rewrite.. and then it became it's own story. This story follows a universe in which Beth found new allies when she was caught out by fallen. It follows a similar path to my other story but different circumstances lead to a different story completely.
Relationships: Elsie/Skye, Guardian/Guardian (Destiny)
Series: Fireteam Russian Roulette [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091060
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Little Spark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754984) by [Fireteam_Russian_Roulette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Mysterious hunter meets a mysterious titan only to float away and never meet again like ships in the night. this meeting would determine the hunter's path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEEDS EDITING, NAME CHANGES AND WORK. posting so i don't lose the story in case i take too long.

“Anne...” a digital voice spoke quietly.

The woman groaned to life as she was pulled from a heavy slumber. The room was still dark and she pulled the covers up with a sigh “what time is it...” she mumbled.

“Time to go, we are flying out to Venus today remember, I did warn you” the voice replied quietly.

She groaned internally as flickers of memories floated back through her mind and she remembered that she had indeed taken up a scouting bounty at Venus and she had to leave before dusk to get there on time. the only problem was that she had a hangover and now she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed.

“Anne... you can’t ignore this... plus... you have company...” she muttered “let’s just go before this gets awkward”.

At this, the woman looked up and the dull shape of someone laid in the other side of the bed. She blushed slightly before sighing and finding her will, finally dragging herself out of bed as subtly as possible, she retrieved her discarded clothing and shivered as the early morning cold nipped at her bare form.

She had almost got out of the room before she heard a sleepy chuckle “thanks for the night... be brave and such...”

The woman blushed and turned to see her one off partner getting comfortable “yeah, it was fun, Venus calls” she muttered “you too”, she then slipped out quickly and took a minute to put clothes on before letting herself out of the apartment.

The woman shivered as a gentle breeze blew past and she crossed her arms to rub them in an effort to keep warm “I really gotta remember to bring a jumper” she muttered as she started walking up the street.

“Wrong way” the female voice mused playfully.

At this the woman groaned and changed directions “of course it is... where even am I?” She muttered and looked to her left. A small floating star hung by her shoulder with one lone glowing eye watching her with amusement.

The robotic voice came from the floating star known as a ghost and as she spoke, her metal points moved to show expression as if she was talking rather than just using a voice module. “Well after you got drunk, you went home with a titan, he apparently lives on floor 3, sector 8, quite a walk home” the ghost teased before looking to the hunters shoulders and light flowed from her eye, around the hunters shoulders appeared a thick cloth cloak with fur around the hood. It hung down to her thighs.

The woman scowled at the ghosts teasing and brought a hand to up lift the hood up over her hair and wrapped the cloak around her and she shivered slightly “thank you Dust” she murmured, right now, she was dressed in casual civilian clothing, looking nothing like the guardian she was supposed to be and that wasn’t even considering how she had spent her night with someone she didn’t know.

The ghost however gave her a smile, or as close to one as a ghost could give. She seemed unphased by her guardians bad mood or neither by the fact she was anything but a good and noble guardian right now. “you’re welcome Anne” she replied happily.

It took a good twenty minutes to walk home through the empty streets. It was still quite dark with only dull lights lighting up the tiled streets of the tower. In normal hours, it was very rare to see the tower this quiet, not to mention all the lights were on. Since the tower was exactly what the name suggested, it was essentially an enormous metal and cement tower that stood like a mountain over the last city.

The tower was where the guardians lived, or most of them did. there was four towers technically, each one built into the wall they were protecting. There was a tower in each major direction, north, south, east and west. Anne lived in the north tower which happened to be the main tower where the guardians were led from.

The towers themselves despite appearing solid were built like a bees nest. There were many many guardians that all had to live in what felt like a small space. In the centre of the structure was a large elevator shaft which connected it to the city below. The elevator however didn’t go all the way up and ended in a level dedicated solely to storage, everything the city in the sky needed was stored there and transported by hand or people drawn cart to where they needed to go.

There was a lower level than storage but to get to it, you needed to go up a floor to take a smaller elevator down. The lowest floor was the mortuary, where the fallen guardians who lost their ghost’s were entombed, if they made it back to the city in one piece. it was a solemn place and only guardians were permitted to be ‘buried’ there as a mark of respect.

Almost every floor above storage was considered as residential other than the two topmost floors which made up command. All up there was twelve floors built into the internal structure of the tower. The residential floors were all the same mostly, they were made up of three streets side by side with alleys that worked as shortcuts to get across the floors quicker and small elevators were used to go up and down through the levels.

Each street was lined with two floors of apartments with little to no space between in most places other than where there were alleys and steps up into the top floor apartments. Each residential floor also had their own market place and civilians that ran them, It was quite the maze unless you have lived there for a while.

Anne herself had lived here for thirty to forty odd years but really, she spent a lot of time off planet, so it was probably something more like twenty to thirty years, the rest of her life had been spent fighting beyond the last city’s borders.

When Anne finally reached home and let herself in, she settled into getting ready for work. The walk had woken her up a bit, not enough to fend off the call from her bed but she resisted going back to sleep despite her hangover and instead dressed herself in leather armour before strapping on her metal armour plates that made up her protection for beyond the wall, she finished up by putting on her helmet and adjusting her cloak to cover it. She picked up a few more things before tying a sheath to her belt and headed out to be the guardian she was. It would be about a month before Anne would begin to realise how that night would change her world.


	2. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discovery and a shoulder to cry on

~one month later~

“Are you sure your feeling ok?” Dust asked with concern.

The woman was kneeling hunched over the toilet currently and she couldn’t respond before gagging and throwing up with a weak groan “yeah...” she finally muttered “I must of just eaten something bad, it will pass, plus, I have to go...” she sighed and rested her head in her hands for a moment, she felt warm but it seemed like her stomach was settling now, slowly but surely. After a few more minutes just to be sure, she got up slowly and flushed before stripping down and heading to the shower to freshen up and brush her teeth.

She felt better once she’d had shower and finally found herself back in her bedroom putting on her jumpsuit before she heard a knock at the door and she jumped “shit, what time is it?” She looked at Dust with a bit of surprise.

“Your running late, it’s almost six am” she replied.

Anne cringed, she made a point of being proud that she was never late and now she was late. She finished zipping up her jumpsuit before leaving her room to answer the front door looking grumpy and soggy, since she was still fresh from the shower. She opened the door with a sigh “yes?” She muttered before rolling her eyes immediately “of course it’s you”

A large titan stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, she gave a cheeky smile “you’re late”. The titan was a beautiful awoken woman who was almost dwarfed by the armour she wore, she had pale grey almost white skin with deep plum purple hair and bright blue eyes, Dark marks stood out on her cheeks and chin. Despite her smile, she looked very militaristic. her hair was cut in a short bob and hung perfectly straight with one of her bangs swept behind her ear neatly.

“What are you, the time guard?” Anne replied bluntly “I’m not late yet” she muttered as she turned and headed back to her bedroom “since your here, make me a coffee” she sighed, shutting her door so she could continue dressing in peace. With her already annoyed mood, she found herself getting angry as she noticed her pants were tighter than normal “have I gained weight?” She asked herself with annoyance, slipping her pants up “Dust?”.

The ghost appeared instantly at her call “yeah?” She replied happily.

Anne bit her lip as she blushed slightly “have I gained weight?” She asked as she slipped on a tight leather jacket with a similar problem, it wasn’t so tight that it was uncomfortable, it was just tighter than normal.

Dust looked thrown off by the question “oh, uh, I mean I haven’t looked for a while... do you think you have?” She floated over to scan the hunter “appearance wise you look great so if your worried...”

Anne belted up her coat “everything is getting tight” she muttered with low key embarrassment “but thanks...” 

Dust looked thoughtful “uh, well you have gained weight actually... but I can’t imagine why, and now I’ve scanned you, your readings are weird” she admitted a little shyly “but I mean, I’m sure it’s just nothing...”

Anne settled on her bed and started putting her boots on before pausing “weird?”, she gave Dust a concerned look “what do you mean weird?”

Dust floated a little awkwardly “uh, well I could swear there’s two heartbeats...” she trailed off “but surely that impossible, guardians can’t....”

“What?” Anne asked with shock, looking pale “two heartbeats?”.

Dust nodded uncomfortably “let me just...” she floated down to scan the hunter again looking confused “I can’t... I can’t disprove...” she hesitated before continuing “you have a buildup of light in your womb, which is where the signal is coming from... I think you might be...” she trailed off not wanting to say it.

The hunter looked to her stomach feeling sick “you can’t seriously mean that...” she whispered weakly.

“There’s no other cause I can think of... I really think your pregnant...” dust replied quietly.

The words sounded alien, Anne could barely process them and after a moment, she stood and walked over to her full length mirror. She faced an awoken woman who looked pale and scared, her skin was a pinkish violet and she like the titan who was waiting on her had deep plum purple hair that for the moment hung messily around her shoulders and over half her face. Her eyes were glowing bright blue with pale lines under her eyes, etched delicately into her skin. Unlike with elsie, it was easy to see the light dance under her skin and it even seemed brighter than usual.

Her body looked mostly normal though, it was hard to tell that she had gained any weight at all but as she put her hand on her stomach, it was hard, not only that, but her usually flat stomach had turned into the smallest of bumps. As she turned to the side, it was obvious under her tight armour. The woman remained silent before looking dizzy and after a moment she went to catch herself before fainting with a thud. 

Dust immediately floated down to her looking concerned “Anne? Uh, Anne?...”

It was barely a few seconds before there was a gentle knock at the bedroom door “you ok in there Anne?” The titan had worry in her voice but waited for a response.

“Elsie, come in here! Anne fainted” Dust called out in reply.

The door opened gently and the titan let herself in carefully “fainted did you say?” She asked with concern, She gently stepped over to the hunter and picked her up effortlessly “what’s wrong? Is this why she was late? I was worried she was sick or something..” she admitted “but she didn’t look...” she set Anne on her bed.

“Anne’s been getting sick of a morning lately and at random times... and I thought it was weird but she’s been eating weird lately, I just thought it was that” dust looked worried “but it all makes sense now... uh... thank you for getting her off the floor...” she muttered.

Elsie waved her hand absentmindedly “uh, sure... it’s not the hardest thing to do... she’s light” she muttered before looked unsure “what do you mean it all makes sense? What’s wrong with her? If she isn’t feeling well, she doesn’t have to go out today... or any day, she’s allowed to take a break” she assured.

Dust looked uncomfortable “I mean.. uh.. well” she found it hard to find the words “look, she isn’t... sick....” she admitted “it’s different... and...” she floated over to check on Anne “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you, it’s not my business to tell you” she muttered with guilt “I’ve already said too much, just go without Anne today, I’ll take care of the formalities ok?”

The titan seemed to fight with herself for a moment, clutching her fist before nodding reluctantly “ok, yeah... sure” she muttered “but promise me I’ll know eventually” she continued weakly “she’s fine right?”.

Dust nodded “of course and I swear I’ll convince her to tell you, I just don’t feel right telling you for her” she admitted “I don’t tell my guardians secrets...”

Elsie looked torn but nodded “ok...” she replied tiredly “I know how Anne is...” she admitted weakly “you look after her for me ok? I’ll head off” she muttered.

“Always” Dust promised “uh... thank you for this... I appreciate it...” she looked to the titan with admiration “you’re the best”.

Elsie sighed “I know... well I’m going to finish my coffee and head out, just call me if you need me ok?”. After a final worried glance to Anne, the titan quietly stepped out of the room and shut the door.

The door was barely shut before Anne woke with a start and sat up with a groan putting a hand on her head “did I faint?” She asked weakly.

Dust nodded “yeah, elsie put you on your bed... she heard you fall” she sighed “are you ok?”

Anne nodded “physically... uh, I guess... my head hurts... but I guess that’s what happens when you fall down... mentally....” she trailed off as tears started to well up “I don’t even know” she admitted.

Dust floated over to nudge her cheek lovingly “well your not working today, so we have a whole day to figure out what to do” she promised. 

Anne gave the ghost an appreciative glance “where’s elsie? Did you tell her?”.

Dust shook her head “no, I’m leaving it up to you” she promised “elsie is just finishing her coffee and then she will be leaving”

Anne looked uncertain “should I tell her?” She continued weakly.

Dust nodded “I think so, she can help maybe, or at least help you figure out what you want to do, at least consider it because you won’t be able to hide it for long... maybe if you were a warlock but....” she sighed.

Anne looked terrified at the thought but started loosening her leather coat. She heard heavy footsteps move around in the kitchen followed by the sink and Anne took a deep breath before getting up and heading to the door, hesitating before opening the door to see elsie walk past, she paused seeing the hunter was up and looked concerned “you ok? You look like you’ve seen a spirit”.

Anne went to speak but nothing came out so she cleared her throat and tried again “yeah... totally fine...” she muttered weakly “thanks for getting me off the floor...”

Elsie nodded and after a moment of looking indecisive, smiled gently “you sure you don’t need me to stick around to catch you?” She teased gently.

Anne blushed a little and bit her lip “uh, that’s not necessary...” she replied before taking a deep breath “I don’t need a nanny”. 

Elsie chuckled “hmm, if you insist... I did make you a coffee if you still wanted it” she offered.

“Coffee sounds nice” Anne replied and headed to the living room, her heart was beating fast as she was full of anxiety, but elsie always seemed to know what to say to make it better, just those few words had allowed her to at least say something. 

Elsie looked indecisive before following “you feel like eating, I can make you breakfast if you like” she offered.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Anne asked with a small smile.

Elsie smiled “you know I do, but it can wait, I’m sure I can spend half an hour to make you something to eat” she mused playfully.

Anne settled at her table and leaned back lazily, crossing her arms uncomfortably “with your ship, you need all the extra time to keep up” she teased before shaking her head “sure, what’s the most complicated, time consuming thing I can think of” she continued playfully “how about a bacon and egg burger with all the extra’s and some toast”.

Elsie laughed “you’re on” she started by retrieving the hunters coffee “You know I almost threw this out... good thing I didn’t” she smiled, before stepping back and her armour faded into light to be replaced by shorts and a singlet, she looked nice without armour, small almost but compared to the hunter, she was still quite bulky. She was very well toned and not nearly as feminine because of the heavy nature of her armour, her job was a workout most of the time. Elsie didn’t hesitate to busy herself in the kitchen.

Anne took a grateful sip of her coffee and watched with amusement “oh, we are getting serious are we? Armours off” she teased.

Elsie glanced over and gave her a grin “I’m not having my armour ruined because of your breakfast, do you know how long it takes to get it to shine like it does?”

Anne laughed and felt herself loosening up slowly, the titan was always nice to be around, her positivity was infectious and she knew when and when not to push a point. She settled into staring off into space looking thoughtful as she finished her coffee, a hand absentmindedly came to rest on her stomach.

She was broken out of her trance by the titan taking her cup from her hand and she realised it was empty, who knows for how long but elsie had put a plate of food in front of her and had even got her some water “oh, your done already?” Anne asked with surprise.

Elsie nodded and sat down beside her with a plate for herself “you say that like you didn’t spend the last twenty minutes staring into space” she teased “I’ll replace all this when I get home” she promised as she started to eat “I’m gonna steal some breakfast too”.

Anne looked playfully offended before shrugging “I think I can deal with feeding you for one morning I’m sure” she sighed “thank you.... your the best” she gave the titan a grateful smile before digging into her own breakfast, slowly so she made sure she wasn’t going to get sick. They ate in silence for a few minutes before elsie was up and cleaning up her mess. 

“You know I can do that right?” Anne mused “I don’t need you to mother me” she assured. 

Elsie shrugged “I made the mess, it’s only right I clean up, plus, your the one that fainted” she smiled “you sound like you need rest”.

Anne blushed a bit “I’m fine...” she replied.

Elsie looked thoughtful before sighing and she looked to Anne “look, I don’t know what’s going on... but whenever your ready... don’t hesitate to let me know... maybe I can’t help much but, I’ll help if I can, I’m worried about you though, so just... take it easy for a few days maybe... if that that will help” she gave her a small smile before finishing up in the kitchen “I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes, I promise”.

Anne looked torn at her words and nodded, watching her work for a moment before looking away with mixed emotions, usually Anne was good with her emotions. Generally she was rather cold and only her close friends could get a smile out of her but for now, her emotions were out of control. as elsie finished up with the dishes, she looked around with satisfaction before nodded and moving to leave. Anne watched her before clutching her fist anxiously “wait... uh... can I... just...” her words failed her.

Elsie stopped and settled beside the hunter, kneeling down to speak quietly “you want to tell me what’s wrong?” She asked gently. Anne nodded weakly and felt a bit dizzy as her anxiety went through the roof. Elsie nodded and offered her hand “take your time” she soothed “it’s ok, I’ve got all day” she shifted her gaze to look to the side rather than at Anne to take some pressure off.

Anne took a few deep breaths and took the titans hand gratefully. After a few minutes, she finally managed to find a few words “I uh... this morning I... we...” she trailed off weakly as she teared up “god, I can’t...” she muttered with shame “dust.... please...”

Dust appeared on command “are you sure?”, with a nod from Anne, Dust met Elsie’s gaze “Anne is pregnant”.

Elsie chuckled “what? Guardians can’t.... can they?” She looked at Anne with confusion before paling “what?!”.

Anne nodded weakly “it explains everything... why I’ve been getting sick, why I’ve been feeling weird and I just... i didn’t know until today and my armour was getting tight...” a few tears escaped her and she was quick to remove them “and then Dust said there’s was two heartbeats... and I just... I passed out...” she looked to elsie “what do I do elsie?”. 

The titan looked shocked and took a long moment to shake her head “uh... right... no wonder you’ve been... yeah... ok, what to do...” she looked unsure and shifted to a chair so she could rest her head in her hands “this is.... frankly... not what I was expecting this morning...” she muttered weakly.

Anne chuckled tearfully “I know right?”

The titan chuckled and took another minute or so to think about it “ok, so, Dust, what’s the situation? Tell me everything, is... uh, the baby...” she looked uncomfortable at the word “is it healthy? Can you tell and how does that change a potential resurrection?” She clutched her hands together and looked at the ghost expectantly. 

Dust looked uncertain at all the questions before nodding “uh, of course, let me...” she trailed off and went over to the hunter to study her “as far as I can tell, both of them are fine, I’ve never really looked at something like this before but both their light’s are strong, not to mention its heart... I can see it... so I guess on that front, it’s fine” she looked uncertain “I can’t promise that I’d be able to fix it if Anne died...” 

“So death is off the table completely then” elsie nodded “good to know, do you know how far along she is?”

Dust looked thoughtful “that ones easy, I can pin it down to 34 days”, Anne blushed slightly at this.

Elsie bit her lip “now a more sensitive question” she paused before continuing “if Anne didn’t want... how would you do that? Is death the only way?”

The two looked shocked at the question “uh... well, I could... I could just purge it myself... reset Anne... but that feels... I mean technically it feels separate to Anne so I’d just resurrect her without...” Dust looked unsure.

Elsie looked upset at the idea “I know the idea sounds bad, I just want to know all of our options...” she looked to Anne “it’s your turn now, you need to decide what you want to do” she took the hunters hands “I can’t make this decision for you, but I can assure you that I will support you every step of the way, no matter what choice you make” 

Anne teared up “how am I supposed to choose... I can’t murder a child...” she whispered “but I’m a guardian... I can’t... what if I die... it’s never mattered this much before...”.

“Hey, you don’t have to figure it out today, we have time” elsie soothed “and we took down oryx, surely this isn’t as scary as seeing him in person right?” She joked gently.

Anne couldn’t resist a slight chuckle and lifted her hand up to wipe her tears away “I guess...”

Elsie smiled “we are god slayers, I promise that we will figure something out...” she pulled the hunter into a hug and for a moment, Anne relaxed a little with a worried sigh in her arms.

After a moment, elsie pulled away, Anne straightened up cleared her throat, despite still looking upset, she seemed better “uh, please don’t tell anyone yet... it’s not like I’ll be able to hide it for long but I’d just rather not be bothered” she admitted.

“Of course” elsie smiled “I wouldn’t dream of it”

Anne bit her lip thoughtfully before looking to elsie gratefully “you’re the best”.

“I know...” she replied with a cheeky grin “someone has to be”.

Anne chuckled and shook her head “you’re so obnoxious”. After a moment, she seemed to look indecisive and started pulling her leather coat off and discarded it on the table and she took the titans hand gently to place it on her stomach with a blush “you know I could almost say I finally got those rock hard abs like you” she joked.

Elsie looked surprised before laughing “i still think the easier way is to just wear heavy armour but whatever floats your boat” she teased before looking at the hunter with admiration. She could feel the warmth under hand, the gentle bump that made up her condition was Hard but it was only when it was pointed out that it became easy to see, elsie hadn’t noticed when she first arrived. “Perhaps I’m just being a dumb titan, but I really didn’t notice until now” she admitted “I never would have guessed”. Her gaze searched the hunter thoughtfully “and for another thing, your glowing a lot brighter than normal” she smiled.

Anne blushed “I didn’t even realise until today and it’s my body” she sighed “in hindsight, I should have guessed but well....” she looked to the titan “I’m sorry, I’ve made you ridiculously late today” she muttered “you should probably go”.

Elsie laughed “nah, I called off work today” she admitted “I had a feeling this chat could take a while” she smiled “but I can leave if you’d like some time to yourself”.

Anne smiled “in that case, you want to go out with me today?”.

Elsie nodded “hell yeah, I want to know everything, do you know who the father is?” She teased.

Anne blushed deeply “no, I can’t even remember when this happened...”. 

The titan laughed “you are a naughty girl” she teased.

“Shut it” she muttered “i guess I just didn’t die to reset...” she sighed “I guess that says a lot for my survivability right?”.

Elsie nodded “yeah, a solid month without a death and doing what you do, it’s not bad” she agreed and stood “well, I suppose, I should probably change into something more practical for town” she mused and as she took a few steps into the open, her shorts were replaced with loose pants, and a short sleeved shirt hung off her shoulders, hanging down more like a short dress rather than shirt length.

Anne got up with a nod and brought a hand up to rest on her stomach gently with a blush before looking at elsie playfully “you come prepared for anything don’t you?”.

Elsie nodded “of course, that’s my thing” she assured.

“I’ll be out in a few minutes” she smiled “apparently I’m not as quick as you for once” and she headed back to her room. She slipped out of her leathers leaving her in her jumpsuit and she once more stood in front of the mirror, gazing at her stomach with mixed feelings. elsie had helped her feel better but now it was her turn to figure out what to do next. 

With the nature of the hunters armour, it was hard to hide her growing bump, and it was barely a few weeks before she started feeling eyes follow her around the tower which made her uncomfortable and moody. She begun going out of her way to either stay home or take long trips away to avoid the curious stares. Elsie from the day she found out was a great help, she would drop by shopping and supplies for the hunter to save her the effort and stares of doing it herself and she would constantly check in on her just to make sure she was feeling ok. 

It took a few weeks for Anne to accept her new purpose but she decided that she couldn’t bring herself to kill the life growing inside and despite the danger of her work, she figured she would just make do, she was a scout mostly so she could do her line of work relatively safely. Once she’d gotten over it, she almost found herself looking forward to the idea of being a mother maybe, although she didn’t know if she could keep it after that, a guardians work never stopped usually.


	3. Adjustment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting used to a new path.

Elsie started going on missions with her every now and then to help in more challenging missions which was quite unusual and this bought the attention of their third fireteam member Skye who was a warlock. Anne and Skye got along well but they were different kind of people and sometimes found it hard to talk to each other. Skye loved talking about her studies but would often lose everyone in the room, Anne however wasn’t as big a fan of talking at all, she didn’t mind listening to other people talk but she herself chose not to a lot of the time, elsie and occasionally skye were the exceptions. 

Skye however spent a lot of time with elsie so when elsie started disappearing more often, she was curious. Skye worked in the city mostly as part of the information centre and she was often responsible for keeping guardians updated on their trips away, she disliked long trips herself and preferred to stay near the creature comforts of her house. Since she worked where she did, she could get information on where her two fireteam members were and so she found herself waiting in the hangar for their arrival.

She didn’t need to wait long as the hunters green and gold dragonfly flew into the hangar smoothly, coming in for a landing rather than the usual fly by and transmat, Skye walked over to greet them happily. Elsie was the first to let herself out and jump down and she didn’t hesitate to walk over to skye and pull her into a playful bear hug “ah, I haven’t seen you for ages, where have you been hiding?” She teased playfully.

Skye laughed and hugged the titan back which was surprisingly comfortable despite her heavy armour “what do you mean where have I been? I’ve been looking for you for the past week, I think you have a new favourite” she replied just as playfully. 

Anne used this time to let herself out of the her ship and subtly hold her bag in front of her to hide her stomach before walking over “creepy, are you stalking me?” She asked playfully.

Skye smiled “no... uh, i mean, kinda, it’s hard to keep up with you guys” she mused “I had to figure out when you were landing in”.

Elsie let her go “or you could just ask” she teased “but did you want me?” She asked happily.

Skye nodded “for one, I haven’t seen you in a while, every time I go past your place, there’s no one there, which is weird, and you haven’t even been at the wall... I just wondered if you were ok, that’s all, it’s weird” she admitted “but it makes sense if your spending time with Anne” she looked to Anne playfully “i thought you didn’t need help?”.

Anne blushed “I don’t” she replied “but company is nice every now and then” she sighed and started heading home.

Elsie pulled Skye into step and walked beside Anne “I just figured I’d switch things up a bit, and generally ruin Anne’s scouting trips with my loud obnoxiousness” she smiled playfully.

Skye chuckled “well I just wanted to check on you, that’s all, how are you guys anyway?”.

Elsie shrugged “not bad, it’s been interesting to work with a hunter again” she admitted “I haven’t done that for a very long time, it’s been nice, you?”.

Skye sighed “I’m doing the same as usual, it’s a bit boring sometimes working in command but I enjoy it most days, I like keeping busy” she smiled “I feel a little jealous that you left the wall for Anne but not me” she teased.

Elsie laughed “you know I couldn’t work where you do if I tried, I don’t have the smarts” she mused.

“I beg to differ, you’d be fine” Skye smiled.

“I think she’d get bored more than anything” Anne smiled “you really wouldn’t want a bored elsie on your hands, trust me”.

Elsie smiled innocently “Surely I’m not that bad?”

Anne gave her a look before sighing as they reached Anne’s residential floor and as they stepped out of the elevator, she almost immediately moved her gaze down as she walked, avoiding eye contact with a moody look that sat between angry and uncertain. At first skye didn’t notice as elsie kept the conversation chipper but Skye soon noticed the glances being sent their way and quickly connected the dots when she saw Anne. Elsie didn’t bring any attention to it so she chose to do the same but there was a tense edge to the air until they finally reached Anne’s home and the hunter looked relieved instantly.

The hunters home was quite spacious but a lot of her chairs and surfaces were taken up by a collection of plush animals in varying sizes, Anne didn’t hesitate to drop her bag on her lounge before heading to her room “make yourselves comfortable, tea and coffee is there if you want it” she offered before shutting the door behind her.

Skye chuckled and picked up a large grey bunny and looked at it with amusement “you know, Anne’s house always surprises me, I forget the queen of mope loves toys so much” she admitted. 

Elsie shifted a matching brown bunny and sat down on the lounge, setting it in her lap “they aren’t toys, they are family” she corrected “your holding ash right now” she smiled “I can’t deny the contrast is great though, she doesn’t look the type” she chuckled.

Skye laughed and set ash down “has she named them all?”

Elsie nodded and pointed out a huge panda named dokkaebi, the brown bunny in her lap was named alibi, and there was a few others she could remember the name of. “Admittedly, I can see why she likes them, while I wouldn’t collect them, it is kinda nice to hug a teddy every now and then” she smiled, she currently had the brown bunny in a casual hug.

Skye smiled cheekily “it suits you”. It looked a bit ridiculous with her bulky armour and the cute bunny, but it was adorable.

Elsie chuckled and leaned back with a tired sigh before getting up “I need a coffee... I probably should have made one before I sat down” she muttered “tea?”. 

Skye nodded and followed elsie to the dining room/kitchen area and sat down at the table as elsie busied herself with making their drinks, she soon settled down with a coffee and two teas and they both gratefully took a second to enjoy their drinks before Skye looked at elsie careful “is anne ok?” She asked quietly “why all the weird looks?”.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “it’s complicated and I can’t tell you” she looked apologetic “it’s not my place”.

Skye looked confused but despite her now burning curiosity, she let the matter drop. It wasn’t long before Anne joined them dressed casually in track pants and a loose t-shirt with her hair down. She gave the titan a grateful smile and took a sip with a relaxed sigh before looking to Skye “you followed me home too? Usually its only elsie” she mused.

Skye smiled “do you mind? I thought I’d visit since your stealing my favourite titan” she teased.

Anne chuckled “no, I don’t mind, and she’s been a great help when she isn’t bored out of her mind” she smiled “I see why you like her”.

Skye blushed subtly and laughed “so is everything going ok with you?”.

Anne nodded but looked a bit indecisive “yeah... it’s been... interesting” she bit her lip “people need to mind their own business, that’s all” she muttered with annoyance before looking awkward “you asked about the stares...”.

Skye looked apologetic “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude on you I was just-“

“No, it’s ok, I hate it... every time I walk through the tower...” she looked angry before looking defeated “I would have been more surprised if you didn’t notice it” she sighed and set her tea down before leaning back and pulling her shirt tight, resting her hand on her bloating stomach “I’m pregnant, that’s why they stare...” she muttered.

Skye looked confused before a mix of emotions moved through her features, finally settling on surprise “the rumours were true then...” she murmured “I thought... but it’s you...” she chuckled “I didn’t believe it” she admitted “this warlock was gossiping about some guardian who’d...” she looked thoughtful “wow... maybe we aren’t so different to civilians...” 

Elsie nodded “I’ve been helping her out so she can look after herself properly”.

Skye smiled “no wonder I haven’t seen you”

The hunter let her shirt fall loose and picked up her tea “I don’t really need her... but I appreciate the help none the less” she admitted “she does all the dangerous stuff instead of me, I just use her as a distraction mostly” she gave a small smile.

Elsie smiled “hey, I’m good at what I’m good at, you want me to run in and get their attention, I can do that”.

Skye laughed and looked at Anne with fascination “wow, so how far along are you?”.

Anne looked thoughtful “A month and a half or so”.

“How do you feel about it?” Skye asked carefully.

The hunter took a moment before replying “well, I uh... I can’t just... I’m keeping it, but as to how i feel, I don’t really know” she admitted “I don’t know if I’ll keep it at the end or not, I am a guardian so I’m going to have trouble looking after a baby and being a guardian” she sighed “I’m undecided” she muttered and sipped her tea.

Skye looked at her with admiration “was it an accident?”

Anne nodded “yeah, I guess I just had some fun at the wrong time and didn’t die... I only found out myself a week or two ago” she admitted “Dust could have fixed it but... I can’t morally do that... even I have limits I guess”.

Skye got up and pulled Anne into a hug “I am proud of you” she smiled “I have to admire your bravery” she admitted “I’m not sure I could do the same in your position”.

Anne chuckled “I think you could, but I wouldn’t recommend it, use me as a cautionary tale” she mused “a death never hurts after some fun”.

Elsie smiled “well now you have two helpers, so there’s that” she mused.

Skye nodded and sat down to finish her tea “of course, if you ever need anything, I’ll do what I can” she promised.

“I’d love more long trips away if you can get them for me” Anne smiled “it’s more comfortable than going anywhere in the tower”.

Skye nodded “easy, But make sure you take elsie with you ok?” She smiled.

“I think I can manage that” Anne agreed.

Elsie nodded “keep me in the loop and I’ll be there” she promised.

For the next few months, Anne did little trips by herself unless she was feeling particularly tired, but she took to spending days or weeks at a time out on the field and elsie never missed a trip. The hunter however had to start adjusting her armour quickly as by the end of two months, it was already uncomfortable to wear her heavy armour as it didn’t allow for much stretch, she could get away with her armour plates though as she only covered the important parts of her chest anyway. After explaining her condition to the vanguard, they allowed for her to have special orders since she refused to stop working completely. Shaxx was a bit upset that Anne couldn’t play crucible for the moment but promised that he’d get her back into shape when all this was over.

It was about the fifth month when Anne had to adjust her armour almost completely. Since her breasts were growing, Dust had to retune her armour to fit properly as well as adjust it so it no longer covered her stomach as it was now so large that there was no comfortable way to armour her properly. She was getting easy to tire now and often just let elsie take over as her body had begun to ache in places it normally didn’t and her balance was becoming worse, she was slowly becoming less agile and it wouldn’t be long before she had to stop jumping completely. Anne was however mostly ok with this, and she loved spending her time outside of the tower. It was when she got back to the tower that she had a bad time.

There was a familiar sense of dread that accompanied her every time she landed into the tower and as elsie helped her get out of the ship, she instantly felt the stares drill into her as they started moving through the tower. Elsie tried her best to help but it was impossible and by the time Anne got home, she was ready to cut someone. The titan would spend some time to help her relax before heading home. Anne had tossed around many ideas to get out of her situation but had come up with only one to fix the problem and after a particularly bad day, she finally snapped, she waited until elsie had left before getting up with a tired sigh.

“Let’s go Dust, I’m sick of this place” she muttered as she headed to her bedroom.

Dust appeared looking worried “wait, Anne, are you sure?”

Anne nodded “I’m sick of it all, I’d rather just get this over with and return when They have nothing to look at” she pulled out two large bags and started packing clothing, survival supplies and anything else she might need.

Dust hesitated “ok, I’ll tell elsie” 

“No, don’t do that, she’s gonna freak out and insist I stay, just don’t tell anybody until I’m out of the city” she sighed and looked guilty “they are probably going to hate me, but I just can’t stand it anymore”.

Dust looked torn but did as she was told and helped where she could. The hunter waited until night had well and truly fallen before tidying up her house one last time and writing a note.

‘I’m sorry elsie, I can’t do it anymore, I have to leave the tower and I refuse to let the vanguard tell me otherwise. I know you will be hurt by this, but I promise I’ll be fine and if you’d still like to be friends when all of this is over, you will always be my best friend’

Anne teared up a bit as Dust put her bags into storage for her and she headed to the door and for a moment she hesitated and picked up a large grey bunny before leaving and locking the door behind her. She was already feeling exhausted with the combination of midnight and being pregnant but she quietly pushed herself through the streets to head up to the hangar, avoiding everyone she possibly could. 

The only problem was Amanda, but it appeared as if someone was looking out for her, the hangar was quiet and Amanda was no where to be seen for the moment so Anne moved to the the landing quickly to call down her ship. She managed to get inside before she was spotted by someone who cared and she didn’t hesitate to turn her tracker off before soaring outside to freedom and as the last city grew small behind her, she had a mix of relief and fear as she accepted the consequences of her actions.

She wasn’t flying for long before the swaying of her ship lulled her into a deep exhausted sleep in the cockpit, Dust easily took over after a few hours of flying, set the ship down somewhere safe and secluded where her guardian could Rest In Peace. 


	4. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One escape turns into another.

~two months later~

“Be careful Anne” Dust hissed with concern.

“I got it” Anne replied with annoyance as she leaned against a concrete wall breathing hard, three dregs now laid dead on the ground around her and the sound of bullets sounded from behind the wall she was resting on. She took a moment and pulled out her scout and readied it before straightening up with a quiet groan. She then stepped out from cover and started shooting at the vandals in the distance. It was easy to pick them off and she ducked behind cover to reload as there was only a few more adds. As she stepped out, she found herself face to face with a captain and she immediatly jumped back heavily with a grunt and dropped her scout to pull out her shotgun. 

The captain seemed equally as surprised to see her so close and took a swing at her, missing as she jumped back, it however saw the shot gun quick enough to dodge most of the shot, the bullets impacting its shoulder and popping the shield instantly rather than being hit somewhere more dangerous. 

The captain could tell the hunter was off, hunters generally moved so much quicker than this one and Anne was almost clumsy in her movements, she was able to dodge the first melee barely but the second one hit her square in the chest and it was enough to make the hunter fall backwards with a pained gasp. The captain didn’t hesitate to pull out a large sword and moved to finish the hunter off. Anne looked pained and she couldn’t get up quick enough to escape and she tried to drag herself away but she stopped seeing the captain loom over her dangerously. 

Anne hesitated before stopping and whimpering painfully as she started to cry and she rested her hands on her bloated stomach weakly, accepting her loss “I’m sorry... mum isn’t as good as she was”.

At this the captain seemed to pause and it’s eyes seemed to search the hunter before crouching down carefully with a low growl, the hunters weapons were on the ground behind them and she seemed defenceless currently despite her armour. This confused Anne who was waiting for the captain to finish her off but since it was over, she brought a hand to her belt where she unsheathed a knife and threw it out her reach to further make her point, and she undid her helmet and pulled it off despite the complaints from Dust.

The captain watched with confusion but the meaning was clear despite their language barriers and after a moment, the captain put away his sword with a nod and another low growl. Anne looked exhausted and breathed heavily as her hands once more came to rest on her stomach. It felt like a long moment before the captain brought one of its hands to carefully set it on the hunters hands and he let out low guttural sounds which sounded as if he was speaking.

Anne looked up to the captain with careful surprise before putting her effort into sitting up with a pained groan, leaving her panting weakly “baby” she breathed, motioning to her stomach “little person”.

The captain let her shift and after a moment seemed to try to repeat after her in an a growl “baby? Little person? Pup?”.

Anne looked a bit confused as she could barely hear the word but nodded “I guess it’s like a pup... young, growing still”

“Growing... young...” the captain looked thoughtful “alone?”.

Anne nodded weakly “alone”.

The captain looked thoughtful, making sure to speak slowly so the hunter could understand “truce?”.

Anne looked shocked “truce? Like friend?”

“Friend” the captain confirmed and stood before letting out a loud cry and the remaining fallen in the area put down their weapon and ran over to see what was happening, the captain gave out what sounds like a bunch of orders and a dreg that Anne had missed moved to pick up the weapons the guardian had dropped and discarded, taking a second to admire the huge hunters knife before scuttling off with some grunts.

Despite feeling uncomfortable with being unarmed, she didn’t fight for her weapons and clipped her helmet to her belt so she didn’t lose that as well. The lower ranks seemed confused by the captains decision but didn’t argue as they scuttled off to do as they were told. As Anne struggled heavily to her feet, she felt the captain help lift her up before it let her go and waved to follow “help” the captain growled simply.

Anne nodded, she was probably a prisoner right now but at least she was alive and as she rested a hand on her stomach, she had a little bit of hope that maybe it wasn’t quite over yet. Initially, Anne had been camping nearby and on seeing the fallen skiff fly overhead, she took refuge in the ruins of an old cement building, however it seemed as though the fallen had found her and followed her. 

Now as she followed them out, she could see her ship in the distance and fallen surrounded it curiously, she however didn’t get a chance to do anything as the captain led her towards a skiff which now hovered just below the tree line. Below the ship, a bunch of supplies had been transmatted down and it looked like the fallen were setting up camp. Anne got a lot of strange and distrustful looked from the captains crew but the captain growled at anyone who looked as though they might do something. 

Once they reached the skiff, the captain looked at Anne thoughtfully before growling as she pointed to the skiff and motioned herself “lift” he grunted. 

Anne looked a bit confused but reluctantly nodded hoping it wouldn’t bite her down the track and the captain grabbed her hands as a light started flooding down from the ship and suddenly Anne felt herself float as the gravity around her went funny, she realised she probably meant gravity lift. It was almost a pleasant feeling as the lack of gravity seemed to take the pressure off her bruised body they floated up into an open cabin where normally the adds would drop from and the captain reached out and pulled himself into the ship, in turn helping Anne out of the lift as well and Anne almost collapsed with a groan as her balance failed her. 

The captain was quick to help her and led her deeper into the ship which appeared bigger than it looked. It was a short walk to get to where the captain wanted and she led the hunter into what appeared to be its own room, torn flags with fallen marks hung around the walls and it was a relatively small room but it was clearly one of the biggest in the ship, a pile of torn fabric and rough cloth seemed to make up a bed in the corner of the room and the captain crouched and motioned to the pile “safe” she said simply “stay, no tricks, stay safe, truce”.

Anne looked a little reluctant but she understood “got it, no trouble from me, promise” two more knives appeared in her hands and she offered them to the captain “my last knives, my promise”.

The captain took them carefully and eyed them with interest before nodding and he helped the hunter lay down before standing up and leaving the room. a glowing forcefield appeared to block the doorway and then the captain was gone.

The pile was surprisingly comfortable despite smelling a bit musky and while Anne felt a bit anxious, she couldn’t do much else so she just tried to relax as her body ached painfully.

It as a few minutes before Dust felt confident enough to appear angrily in front of her “what in the hell are you doing?”.

Anne sighed “surviving” she muttered “for the baby... I couldn’t fight anymore” she sighed “I would have died if I didn’t give up, sure you could have revived me, but I’m not the important one, dying here I’d just a waste of time” she looked to dust “I’m sorry”.

Dust looked as though she wanted to argue but deep down she knew the hunter was right “ok, but we have to escape as soon as we can” she scanned the hunter carefully and fixed up what she could as she checked on her health of the baby “the baby is fine, as long as you rest, I think you should be fine” she promised “both of you, but just, it’s getting late, we don’t want to accidentally fall into labor so just...relax I guess”.

Anne nodded weakly “thank you” she offered her hand to the ghost and dust settled into her palm happily. The hunter held the ghost to her chest lovingly before letting herself fall asleep. 

She stirred after an undetermined amount of time and it was dark, for a moment she didn’t remember where she was. she was confused to find herself in the captains bedroom still but after a moment, her memories returned to her and the forcefield was still up. Anne couldn’t be bothered getting up so she just got more comfortable and gently rubbed loving circles on her stomach. 

Dust appeared quietly at her shoulder “don’t panic, but your friend is sleeping over there” she whispered.

Anne looked confused before searching the room and as her vision adjusted to the light, she noticed what looked like a pile of cloth, she however recognised the spiked head of the captain and he seemed almost cat-like as he was curled up on the ground sleeping. The hunter looked a bit surprised before looking a bit awed “wow...”.

“It’s fascinating... I had a look at it and fallen are kinda cool” Dust admitted “their body is different but the same”.

Anne chuckled “I wonder why it likes me so much?”

“Probably because your defenceless” Dust admitted “but I’d almost take a guess that it has either been a parent or known a mother perhaps, I don’t know what it is”.

Anne’s stomach grumbled quietly and the hunter sighed “right... I haven’t eaten for a while have I...”.

“Right, give me a sec, I think you still have something” Dust floated over to her hand and a brown package appeared in her hand from light “this should tide you over until I can get you something more substantial” she promised.

Anne sat up with a quiet groan and settled into snacking on her field rations gratefully and it helped, although really she should been eating more than this since she was pregnant. She then settled back into sleep after a while, she stirred once more and the room was brighter, the sleep had done her a lot of good and she felt refreshed other than the constant uncomfortable pressing of her chest plates.

She normally didn’t have a problem with her chest armour but since her body kept growing in some places, her breasts in particular were quite tender as they were slowly becoming plump with milk. Anne got up heavily and stretched tenderly before sighing, she stripped off her chest armour gratefully and she let out a pleasured sigh before pacing around the room to get her body moving. She turned to face the door as she heard the forcefield come down and the captain returned to the room carrying a bag in one of her hands.

Anne backed up carefully and put her hands up “just stretching, I’m good” she promised.

The captain eyed her before eyeing her discarded armour and after a moment stepped forward to open the bag and pulled out an apple to show the hunter before putting it back and offered it to the hunter “eat” he growled.

Anne took the bag with grateful surprise and sat down on the bed to start picking through the bag carefully. There was a bunch of things, it looked like this was stolen from a city supply cache as there more a few field rations, some jerky and fruit. While normally she would had to have washed some of it, she didn’t have the opportunity so she just made do and ate as she watched the captain curiously.

The captain himself crouched down to pick up the hunters armour and seemed to search it carefully before moving over to the hunter and held a fist to her chest “protect?”.

Anne nodded and repeated the gesture “chest armour, it’s too tight so I took it off”.

The captain nodded thoughtfully “armour....” he then sat down and continued looking at the armour curiously, he seemed fascinated by it.

Anne let the captain do what It wanted for now as she finished eating and once she was done, she offered the bag back “thank you”, the captain looked a bit confused at the words so Anne shifted to lean forward in a small bow to try and get her message across. 

The captain seemed to understand and bowed his head back with a growl “good”.

Anne smiled gently and held her hands up to her chest to indicate she meant herself “Anne”.

The captain looked thoughtful “Anne?”. The hunter repeated the motion and the captain held a hand out to her “Anne” and the hunter nodded. “hunter Anne” the captain continued.

“Yes, you know I’m a hunter?” She asked with confusion.

The captain brought a hand past the hunters head and pulled up the hood “hunter, death” she explained simply.

Anne looked awkward “oh, uh... yeah... why would you help me?” She asked carefully.

The captain looked as though he wasn’t sure how to continue for a moment before pointing to her stomach “pity, weak, surrender”.

Anne placed a hand on her stomach, it was slightly hard to hear that the captain had pitied her but at least she hadn’t lost her child “who are you?” She motioned to her self “I’m Anne, you are?” She motioned to the captain.

The captain looked thoughtful and pointed to the hunter “Anne” she then motioned to herself “misraaks”.

“Mithrax?” Anne repeated carefully.

The captain looked thoughtful before nodding “misraaks, house light”.

“House light?” Anne looked confused “I’ve never heard of that house”.

“Mine” mithrax replied.

“Your house” Anne repeated with surprise.

He nodded “my house, friend to you” he continued “peace with light holders, too much blood, not needed”.

Anne smiled “yeah, I agree, peace is nice” she nodded.

Mithrax set the armour beside the hunter and motioned to her “can take city, to outside”.

Anne looked surprised before shaking her head “no, I don’t want to go to the city, and I have my ship”.

Mithrax looked confused at this “home?”.

Anne nodded “yes, the city is my home, but I don’t want to go there” she sighed as she looked for a word which would represent why she was out here “uh, I have forsaken the city, I’m an outsider for now”.

Mithrax looked unsure and pointed to her “deserter?”.

Anne nodded “I will go back, but not yet”.

The captain looked puzzled “why”.

The hunter sighed with embarrassment “my baby... I wanted secrecy” she put her hands on her stomach “people looked and judged, I wanted to escape so I did”.

Mithrax took a moment to think about it “understands... I did same” he replied “Won’t take city” he promised “take safe”.

Anne looked unsure “but what about my ship?”.

“Bring with” Mithrax replied.

“how” Anne asked carefully. 

The captain took a second to find the words “hijack, follows us, could fly” he offered.

Anne looked thoughtful “I could follow you”.

Mithrax nodded and stood “good, leave soon”.

Anne got up sluggishly and leaned down to pick her chest armour before putting it back on with a tired sigh “ready”.

Mithrax wasted no time to start leading her back through the ship and they took the gravity lift back down. The area had been cleaned up and fallen seemed to be doing the last few jobs before they moved on. Mithrax paused to let out a loud order and the fallen scrambled to do as they were told. After a minute, a vandal approached with the hunters weapons in its arms and despite looking wary, it offered the hunter her weapons.

Anne took each and disarmed them before they each went to her inventory and she returned one of her knives to her sheath before returning the others to her inventory as well, Anne gave the vandal a respectful nod and Mithrax led the way back to the hunters ship. It seemed mostly untouched with a few marks here and there from the fallen climbing over it curiously, Anne held out her hand and dust appeared before letting herself into the ship. Currently it was too high for her to get up into and she couldn’t transmat currently.

The ship activated with a hum and lowered as much as possible and Mithrax climbed up before she could even do anything, he then perched on the wing and offered two of his hands while the others kept his balance. He helped lift up the hunter and the hunter opened up the hatch before jumping down with a quiet groan and she settled into the cockpit with a relieved sigh, everything was still fine. Mithrax jumped in to have a look and he was rather large, the cabin felt small with him taking up the rest of the space.

After his curiosity was satiated, he gripped the chair and leaned over the hunters shoulder “follow, safe” he growled and pointed to the skiff, he then climbed out of the ship and the ship rocked as he jumped off and started running back to his own ship. Anne got up to close the hatch properly before sitting down “I guess I made a new friend” she muttered.

“You know, I thought the name sounded familiar, Mithrax is known to the guardians, apparently he has helped others before us, I thought he sounded familiar” Dust spoke.

“Well I appreciate the help... maybe I can get some supplies before I move on... I was starting to need them” she admitted.

“I’m surprised, I wonder where he learned common...” dust sounded thoughtful “so are we following them?”.

Anne nodded “yeah, it gives me a chance to relax hopefully”.

It was a few minutes but they saw the skiff rise above the tree line before taking off and dust followed suit, trailing them casually. The dragonfly could fly faster than this but dust chose not to as the skiff didn’t seem particularly rushed or fast at all. Anne ended up dozing off in the cockpit and dust left her alone, the hunter really shouldn’t be out here alone but Anne refused to go back to the tower and went out of her way to avoid being found by any guardians and usually everything else but the hunter was becoming more sluggish as the days went on, it was bound to happen that something would get her eventually.

It was a few hours before the skiff started slowing down and coming in for a landing and from the outside, they approached an enormous factory that looked like it was crumbling, this didn’t stop the fallen from lowering their ship into a huge hole in the roof and then it moved forward, disappearing into the building. Despite some hesitation, dust lowered the dragonfly inside and they were immediately in an large storage room which easily gave the skiff full cover and protection despite its size. 

Dust reversed to duck under the roof as well to take advantage of what remained of the roof and lowered for Anne before powering down and fallen immediately came out of the woodwork to look at the guardians ship with curiousity. Dust appeared and gently nudged the hunters hand and then cheek to wake her “Anne, we are here”.

Anne groaned back to life as she stirred uncomfortably “huh.. I’m up...” she sighed.

“Are you feeling ok?” Dust asked gently.

Anne nodded “yeah, just tired... who knew making a baby was such hard work right?” She mused sleepily “where are we?”.

Dust chuckled before looking at the screen “some kind of factory, it’s huge... I can’t even begin to imagine how many fallen are here...”.

Anne looked a little nervous “well hopefully they are just as open-minded as Mithrax” she then moved to open the hatch and go through her supplies, she brought what remained of her food supplies with her before pulling herself out of her ship with a groan, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do that much longer, not with out hurting herself anyway but that was a problem for later.

Dust took refuge on Anne’s person and she could feel the eyes of numerous fallen watching her with distrust. She jumped down with a groan and took a second to lean on her ship to catch her breath, she knew she was probably risking a lot being this active but she couldn’t help it, if it was only walking that it would probably be fine but she was definitely doing much more than she was supposed to be. 

Anne did keep an eye on her surroundings even as she rested and it wasn’t long before Mithrax approached her “Anne, safe” he spread his arms indicating the factory “follow, rest”.

Anne straightened up with a nod and Mithrax started leading into the factory. Perhaps once upon a time it was full of machines and equipment but it looked the place had been stripped completely by the fallen who now inhabited it. As they made their way through the building, there were fallen in every direction but no one approached and Mithrax led her up into some higher rooms until they reached a large room which had what must have been a throne but it was made of scrap and fallen banners hung from the walls. Mithrax let out a cry and two vandals ran up from behind them to answer the call. Mithrax gave them an order, pointing to an area beside the throne. They immediately ran off to do as they were told and it became obvious what the order was when within minutes, they had built a chair from crates, torn fabric and other soft fluff, Mithrax inspected their work before offering it to the hunter and despite feeling a bit awkward, she took a seat. 

It didn’t look like it was going to be comfortable but as soon as she sat down, she let out a relieved sigh as she sunk into her makeshift chair, almost throne. Mithrax settled into his throne and gave the two vandals a nod and it was strange. Fallen seemed to let themselves into the area and started what Anne assumed to be speaking to Mithrax. after a moment, the captain would respond and the fallen would leave. This went on for a good hour or so as some problems seemed to require more time to solve and Mithrax finally stood up and gave more orders to what must have been his helper vandals. They rushed off leaving Mithrax with the hunter and he walked over and crouched.

“Anne, news” he spoke “bounty for you” he looked unsure “I protect, stay” he offered.

The hunter looked shocked “what? A bounty? Is there a bounty on my head?”.

“Light holders want find hunter, you must be hunter” he explained “but i protect” Mithrax offered his hand “picked up follower, eliksnii find, stop”.

Anne felt both relieved and scared “Dust did you have any idea?”

The ghost appeared carefully looking uncertain “I had heard rumours but I’m so far away from the communication network... I didn’t see the order directly...”

Mithrax looked curiously at the ghost “star speaks” he growled with interest.

Dust looked unsure and Anne caught her supportively “yes, star is ghost, star is called dust” she motioned to the ghost “very precious to me”.

Mithrax motioned to the ghost “ghost? Ghost called dust, what purpose...”

Anne looked unsure “ghost is source of light, of life, Dust brings me back to life if I die”.

The captain looked surprised almost “interesting... all light holders have?”. Anne nodded he looked thoughtful “kill light holder, kill ghost?”.

Anne looked uncomfortable but nodded subtly holding Dust a bit closer. “Ghosts are gifts from the traveller”.

Mithrax looked as though he had a realisation “a gift from the great machine?”. He looked to the ghost before bowing his head respectfully “great machine gives powerful gifts”.

Anne was a bit surprised at his reaction “that’s what the fa-eliksnii call the traveller isn’t it”.

“Yes, the great machine, used to be ours, chose you, work together to save great machine” he stood up “one day, great machine choose us once more” he finished with an almost eager growl.

Anne smiled “I think it’s possible”.

The two vandals returned with another bag and once more Mithrax showed that the bag held food before offering it to Anne. “I go, but will return, stay safe, I protect” he promised before leaving and as he left the room, a large group of fallen came into the room before a blue forcefield closed off the doorway. The two main vandals settled near Anne as if guarding her while the others seemed like extra guards, it felt strange to treated like this by fallen but after eating, she reluctantly settled into a protected nap. 


	5. Fruitful Accidents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A stray signal leads to a mess and who better to handle it than mam elsie.

~meanwhile: a day earlier~

“Im picking up a bunch of fallen chatter” sparks muttered.

Elsie lounged in her cockpit looking depressed “mmm?” Currently sparks was flying them over the edz as they headed back to the tower.

“It’s kind of a weird place for fallen... I wonder what their up too...” the ship changed direction “it won’t take long, I’m just curious”. Elsie nodded but didn’t seem bothered. The past two months had been hard, she remembered heading over to Anne’s to find the door locked which wasn’t that strange but after sparks had let her in, it was clear the house had been emptied and Anne hadn’t been there for a few days. She remembered searching the house for clues, maybe a planet to search or a destination but nothing but an apology letter explaining that Anne had left. 

Elsie hadn’t wasted any time in starting to search high and low for the hunter, she and Skye searched as best they could, going from planet to planet but nothing and despite a bounty going out for Anne’s safe retrieval, no other guardian could find her either. it was as if she vanished from existence and the fact they couldn’t find her, killed elsie. She was usually quite chipper but she hadn’t smiled properly since Anne had left, she felt guilty for allowing it to happen. 

Sparks tried her best to keep the titan animated but it was almost impossible most of the time she had taken to trying her best to figure out a way to help. The ghost slowed to a stop once they were close enough to get a good read on the signal but they couldn’t see anything but trees currently, she decided to move on after she’d got a good recording of the fallen chatter because right now she couldn’t translate it so she headed home to the tower.

Once they were home, elsie settled into watching some crucible on the lounge, not really in a mood to talk so sparks came to rest on the dining room table so she could translate the days findings, after an hour, sparks burst to life “elsie! I think I found her, I can’t believe it, listen to this” she floated over and expanded as she let her recording play.

-“camping for the night... heading home tommorow, captain insists on looking after a light holder...”

“Light holder?”

“Death bringer, he recognises it, it surrendered to him”

“Sounds dangerous, sounds crazy... but perhaps there is good light holders like he says”

“There is, just not many, too quick to fear, maybe this can help”

“Is it really a hunter...”

“A very strange hunter, slow and weak, easy to kill”

“It doesn’t sound like a hunter”

“It is, it’s just... a weak one, it looks weird”

Most of the voices sounded like dregs or something but suddenly a stronger voice sounded “make yourself busy dregs”

“Mithrax, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Yes, don’t question my decisions”

“I’m not, I just, hunters are tricky, what if she turns on us”

“She won’t, she is concerned for her pup, she won’t dare”-

Elsie looked pale “that can’t be anyone else... but that means...” she swallowed hard and teared up “do you remember those co-ordinates?” Elsie got to her feet “we have to go find her”.

Sparks nodded and followed eagerly “yes, I saved them, but it sounds like they are moving on, what if they leave before we get there”

“I’m not going to give them a chance... Mithrax, what can you find on that name?” Elsie asked. She had barely got out of her armour a few hours ago but now she put it back on.

“Give me a second... ok, mithrax is supposedly a friendly fallen, like variks once upon a time” sparks looked thoughtful “I can’t find any indication of where he is based though”.

It took a few minutes but elsie soon headed out with new found energy despite it getting quite late now and sparks told her everything she could. after explaining the situation with help from the fallen recording, Amanda reluctantly allowed the titan to take off and they were off. Their destination was an hour away but about halfway, they went silent as not to alert anyone of their approach. Elsie was beginning to get tired when they arrived at their destination. They started where sparks had got the radio chatter and this time, there was no chatter, it was silent leaving sparks frustrated “ok, you get some rest, let me just search the area, I’ll do this manually” she muttered.

Elsie reluctantly agreed but by now she was falling asleep where she sat so she couldn’t argue if she wanted too and she left the search in sparks capable hands. Sparks swept the area thoroughly but as much as she looked, there was nothing and it was early morning before she decided to bring the ship down to a more hidden position to wait for elsie to wake up.

The titan stirred stiffly once the sun had come up but she didn’t sleep well, she had no problems with sleeping in her ship normally but tonight, knowing Anne was still out there kept her from sleeping properly. 

“Any luck?” Elsie yawned tiredly.

“No” sparks muttered “I don’t get it, they should be right here... but I just couldn’t see anything” she sounded defeated.

“It’s ok, I can help look now, maybe we can see more now” elsie suggested before she already looked depressed “what where you looking for?”.

“Anything, a signal, a running machine, a life blip, but there’s nothing, I feel like I just made it up but I didn’t, I swear I didn’t...” sparks sounded distraught.

“Ok, calm down, its ok, fallen are good at cloaking things, maybe they were just cloaked, it might be different now” elsie tried to sound hopeful but even she was beginning to doubt everything. 

They took off once elsie was ready and once more searched from the skies silently, the trees seemed endless but there really was nothing else until suddenly sparks put a target up on her screen “signal, there”, She sounded determined.

Elsie immediately changed direction and it was about a ten minute flight. they ended up at a clearing that was for the most part empty other than a pike and as elsie transmatted to the ground, and let sparks have a look, sparks looked furious “are you kidding, this is it?! This is the signal, after everything?” The ghosts anger quickly fizzled into depression “I’m sorry, there’s nothing else”.

Elsie was just as angry but seeing sparks she took a took breath and captured the ghost to hold her close gently “it’s ok, we will figure this out... somehow...”. She felt tears well up but she resisted crying and just tried to calm down. After a few minutes, elsie pulled out a grenade and set it in the pikes engine and gave is a hateful glare and as she returned to her ship, it exploded with solar light and fire.

Sparks once more focused on scanning the area and they had barely gotten started before she sounded uncertain “I have another signal... but I swear, it doesn’t make sense because I searched...” she sighed “whatever, it’s there” she muttered with annoyance, putting the destination on the screen. 

They had already flown over this area a few times but this time, it was as if a building just grew out of nowhere and there was a clearing that wasn’t there before. As they landed in, it was clear that a relatively large group had camped there for the night as grass was burned and flattened in places, sparks appeared to scan the area thoroughly while elsie looked carefully for signs of who or what was here. They eventually made their way into the building and it wasn’t long before they found a bunch of bodies and signs of a scuffle but it appeared That everyone who left had walked out. 

Sparks took a closer look before looking shocked “I think those are guardian tracks... with fallen tracks, I think she walked out of here...” sparks looked confused “but why?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “they talked about a guardian, a hunter and a pup, there’s no way it’s not her right, so whatelse did they say... she surrendered” she shook her head “she wouldn’t... or would she...”. Elsie looked confused “perhaps she would... to save the baby maybe she did...”.

“Well I’ll see where she went” sparks muttered “I’m not great at tracking but I’ll do the best I can”.

Elsie nodded and let sparks do her thing and they followed the invisible traces of light to a circle of earth that seemed a bit funny, it compacted down as the titan stood on it despite the rest of the area feeling solid “why is this one area weird...”.

Spark focused and took a minute “there was a gravity lift... the ground here has been raised”.

“Gravity lift... ok, so then that’s how they got back in their ship I guess...” elsie sighed “any other tracks?”.

Sparks nodded “a faint trail of light leads this way...” she led the way to another part where there was another little clearing “and it stops here...” she scanned the area thoroughly “her ship was here, I can pick up the trail, if we are quick, maybe we can follow it”.

Sparks didn’t waste any time in getting elsie back to her ship and after focusing on what was left of the quickly fading ship trail, they followed it to wherever it was going.

It was a few hours of flying and about half way they lost any trail they had but they hoped that following the the same direction would lead them to the hunter. They finally reached an enormous golden age factory with a crumbling roof but it looked abandoned, elsie wasn’t convinced though and sparks went through all her channels before one came alive with fallen chatter and elsie looked determined “guess its time to go door knocking”, she pulled the ship around and came in for a landing about ten minutes away so her ship was safe, she then armed up and started trekking to the factory.

She stopped in the tree line just before the factory and scanned the area with a scope and the area was now swarming with fallen, it’s like they knew she was coming. She took a second to think before she suddenly found herself surrounded as vandals started climbing down the trees around the and elsie was pushed out into the open where all hell cut loose. Elsie tried her best but she ultimately took too many bullets and collapsed as she blacked out. 

Elsie woke with a start and found her arms tied tightly behind her and she had four vandals that instantly pointed their weapons at her, elsie immediately realised she wasn’t getting out of this the easy way. She felt a bunch of hands grab her and lift her up to her feet and she realised that two captains held her tightly and they started walking her through what felt like endless concrete rooms full of fallen, she was led up to another large captain who looked at her expectantly. 

Despite her every instinct telling her to fight, elsie resisted the temptation and just stared daggers at what must of been the kell of these fallen. It became very quiet and the captain stepped forward and motioned to itself “misraaks, you?” He put it hands on the titans chest to make its question clear. It spoke in a deep guttural voice, very animalistic with a quiet growl that followed its words.

“Elsie” the titan growled, she recognised the name from sparks “you have a hunter that I want don’t you” she spat angrily.

Mithrax looked thoughtful and crouched “hunter friend, Anne safe” he growled before continuing “why want friend...”.

Elsie teared up, despite her situation, it was nice to hear that Anne was actually alive and potentially even safe “Anne is my friend, I want to take her home, where she is safe, please”.

“Anne not want home, Home has bounty for her, unsafe” mithrax Leaned in “Anne stay”.

Elsie looked shocked, they knew an awful lot about what was going on “the bounty isn’t for her head, it’s for her safe return to the tower, I swear and I don’t even want it, I just want my best friend back” she felt tears escape her “please, I haven’t seen her for months, is she ok?”.

The captain seemed to think about it “elsie promise, truce, no tricks, hunter gave me her tricks, made promise, what can you give”.

Elsie looked unsure “truce? Uh...”

“It feels like a trap” sparks whispered.

“But if she is really here...” elsie whispered back “I have to do this...”. After a moment of thought her weapons appeared on the ground in front of her with a clatter and she spoke out loud once more “I’m unarmed” she promised weakly “I just want to see Anne, and know she’s ok, I’m supposed to be protecting her”.

Mithrax waved a hand and a dreg came to pick up and run off with the titans weapons, he then gave the captains a nod and they let the titan go “keep rope, or die” he threatened before waving to the titan “follow light holder...”.

The fallen parted and the captain headed up stairs followed by the tied up titan who for now allowed herself to stay tied up, as they reached a doorway that was blocked by a glowing forcefield, it deactivated with a wave of Mithrax’s hand and he led the way into the what must have been the throne room, as elsie scanned the room, she paused on seeing the hunter unconscious on a collection of stuff making up a chair, she appeared healthy but from this distance, she didn’t know if she was alive or dead.

Mithrax turned to face her “Anne, safe, as promised...”.

Elsie was torn between emotions, from what she could tell, every add in this room was going to stop her from checking on her and it was unclear if she was there by choice or force. “Why is she here” elsie asked carefully.

“Safe, running from home, protect” Mithrax tilted his head “you don’t believe?”.

“Are you keeping her here?” Elsie continued.

“Yes, things dangerous” he replied.

Elsie looked unsure “would you allow her to leave with me?”.

Mithrax shook his head “no, tower unsafe”.

Elsie bit her lip before sighing and with her combined lack of proper sleep and emotions, she made her decision. “I’m sorry, I can’t let her stay here” she burst into solar light and the room burst to life. the heat quickly burned the ropes and she put a shield up to block one side of the room before focusing on the others that charged her but she didn’t get that far as Mithrax teleported in front of her and with two quick strikes, a deep cut to the stomach followed by one through her neck, elsie fell hard, bleeding out almost instantly.

“Not all light holders good” Mithrax sighed. The noise of the upset startled Anne awake and she looked around with sleepy confusion, she saw the titan fall and Mithrax shook his swords off before putting them away and turning to Anne “apologies Anne, you safe” he assured.

Anne got up stiffly “who is that?” She asked carefully “why kill her?”.

Mithrax crouched by the titan “titan called elsie... broke promise... attacked”.

Anne looked shocked and walked over to get to her knees “what? When... is she... did you kill her ghost?” She asked with worry.

“No ghost seen, has not been killed by us if dead, I only kill light holder” Mithrax assured with a growl “I must protect house, friend or not, you understand...”.

Anne Carefully pulled the titans helmet of and pulled her into a hug tearfully “sparks, I know it’s scary, but you can revive her, I promise, I will protect you”.

“Ghost is gift, don’t want kill gift from the great machine” Mithrax added.

It was a moment before sparks appeared looking scared at the fallen around her, everyone looked twitchy but no one moved to hurt her and she scanned the titan and thrust her light into her. It was a second before the light seemed to pulse through her form and she woke with a start and immediately looked scared before she realised she was being held by anne and she broke into tears, she quickly sat up and pulled the hunter into a hug “Your alive... I thought... I was so worried...”.

Anne sighed and hugged her back “Your an idiot, why would you try and fight a room of fallen”.

Elsie laughed weakly “they weren’t going to let you go... I thought they wouldn’t let you see me...” she pulled away and started fussing over the hunter “have you been eating enough, drinking enough, how have you been staying safe? How hasn’t anyone been able to find you, I’ve been worried out of my mind, how dare you just leave like that, just a note? Anne, please!” She ended up shouting before breaking down even further “how could you...” she finished weakly.

Anne looked guilty “I’m sorry...”

Elsie chuckled tearfully “you better be, your grounded for life” she muttered.

Anne teared up “look, I uh... I just couldn’t do it anymore, I could feel them... it was driving me crazy, I was about to throw myself off the tower and I knew no one would let me go... I had to do this...” she looked guilty “I really am sorry, but I just can’t go back... it’s too much...”.

Elsie looked hurt “but you can’t stay out here, you can’t defend yourself properly, how did you end up here?!”.

Anne bit her lip “well, technically, they tried to kill me... but they disarmed me and I couldn’t fight and... they took pity on me...” she swallowed hard “I know it’s weird, but just trust me, these guys aren’t going to hurt me”.

Elsie put her head in her hands with defeat “is that why you surrendered?”.

Anne nodded “I hoped that they’d make it quick or just leave me alone...” she admitted “Mithrax took me to his ship and let me rest, fed me and brought me here, I have my ship and everything, I flew here following them”.

“If Anne wants to stay, she stays, we protect” Mithrax assured “hunter is friend of house light”.

Elsie looked torn and Anne pulled her into another hug “I missed you but I’ll be ok, I promise, how did you even find me?”.

Elsie sighed “sparks did a good job of tracking you... I guess we weren’t that far behind you this time... sparks picked up some chatter and translated it... they were talking about you, I thought you were a prisoner...”.

Mithrax crouched beside Anne “Anne, your friend could stay, as long as eliksni remain unharmed”.

Anne looked hopefully to elsie “just a day or so, why don’t you stay, please”.

The titan looked to the fallen surrounding her and back to Anne before she crossed her arms “you just up and leave and now your asking me to stay, I’m getting whiplash” she muttered “why should I stay, do you even want me around?” She looked hurt “do you realise how that felt?”.

“Anne protect you, despite reason you died, consider that” Mithrax added before standing “friend saved you” he looked around to the other fallen and waved them all away other than two staffed vandals that crouched beside the throne and Mithrax sat down and watched curiously.

Elsie Brought her hands to her head looking tired “I just want all this to be over”.

Anne got up heavily and offered her hands “come, you look like you need rest”.

“I can’t rest here” elsie sighed.

“I am” Anne smiled gently “I promise, it’s safe”. 

Elsie finally stood after a moment let the hunter lead her to the makeshift chair and she sat down leaving room for elsie and the titan was slightly surprised by how comfortable it was. “So they really did look after didn’t they?” She asked weakly.

Anne nodded “I know, I was surprised too but yeah, I’m safe here, I’m not sure if everyone likes it but the only times I’ve been left alone, Mithrax has made sure the blue barrier is up, nothing can come in or out...” she sighed “on the ship, he even slept in the same room as me” she muttered quietly “it was fascinating, he sleeps kinda catlike” she mused.

Elsie chuckled “how long have you been with them?”.

“About a day” Dust spoke, appearing beside Anne “I didn’t like it but... well the baby is alive so there’s that and for once, it wasn’t the worst idea”.

Elsie looked surprised then unsure “Is that safe?” She murmured.

Anne nodded “I don’t know but this Mithrax is one of the strangest fallen I’ve ever seen, he seems to hold the traveler in high regard and in turn, doesn’t seem interested in killing the ghosts... he’s interested but for what purpose I don’t know” she shrugged “we’re taking it easy right now just in case anyway”.

Elsie sighed “well I have to admire his strength... I’m impressed how quickly he took me down... but I guess I did deserve that...”.

Anne chuckled and patted her head playfully “I don’t blame you for doing what you did, your supposed to be my guard dog after all, just behave from now on and it will be fine” she yawned and shifted to unclip her chest armour, pulling it off with relief and she set it on the floor before shifting to lay down heavily “trust me, get some rest and we can talk later” she assured. Elsie looked uncomfortable but seeing Anne so relaxed, she told sparks to take off her plates.

“Fine...” she shivered in the cool of the factory, her plates were off, she did feel the chill a bit more “aren’t you cold?”.

Anne chuckled “no, I’m usually quite warm, I think it’s a baby thing, cuddle me and you will be fine”

Elsie blushed and sighed “god, I haven’t even decided if I like you again yet and you want cuddles...” she rolled her eyes playfully before shifting behind Anne gently and pulled her into a gentle cuddle. Anne wasn’t wrong, she was quite warm and elsie let out a comfortable sigh as the days exhaustion got to her, it was barely a few minutes before both the women were sleeping peacefully.


	6. Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsie and Anne(Beth) get reaquainted

Anne hadn’t felt this safe in a long time so she slept through the rest of the day and night while elsie stirred later in the afternoon just to go back to sleep and she also slept through the night. Elsie was the first to finally wake and despite the dim light, she could see some early sunlight slowly bleed into the room from somewhere, she blushed as she realised, Anne was still in her arms and she had try and control her thoughts for a moment, she however subtly shifted her hand to the hunters stomach. It was perfectly rounded and warm, she could feel the light pulse under her hand and she couldn’t help but smile as she realised that for now, both Anne and her child was perfectly safe and healthy, the thought made her relax and she gently hugged the hunter supportively.

Anne stirred with a sigh before chuckling sleepily “it’s like you missed me...” she mused quietly as she dragged herself from sleep.

Elsie rolled her eyes “huh, you couldn’t tell...”. She looked around the room thoughtfully and they were alone. as Anne had explained, there was a large blue forcefield blocking the doorway.

Anne yawned before shifting heavily to face the titan and she went from relaxed to guilty “look, I get it, and you have every right to be upset, and I know sorry isn’t enough, but I truly am sorry, I swear it on my life, on my baby’s life, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to that isn’t going back to the tower, I’ll do it, I promise”.

Elsie sighed, instantly looking torn “you’ve done a number on me... that’s for sure...” she looked distant before turning her attention back to the hunter “promise me, that you tell someone where you are ok, just one person...” she teared up “I was so scared to think... if something had happened... just make sure someone can find you, please, for me”.

Anne nodded “I’ll tell you, I promise, does that count?”.

Elsie nodded and cuddled her “yes, I count, you can call on me whenever you want or need me ok, and for the travellers sake, call me if anything scary happens ok?”.

Anne chuckled “yes mame”. Elsie held her gently for a few minutes and Anne let her relax a little before continuing to speak “you know, with this reaction, it’s like you like me” she teased gently choosing to lighten the mood.

Elsie pulled away slightly with a blush “oh, uh... I mean, you’re very attractive” she muttered “but I didn’t think you swung that... I mean” she stumbled awkwardly over her words “no, I mean yes but...”

Anne silenced her with a laugh “it’s a joke, but that was the cutest I’ve ever seen you” she mused “I didn’t know you preferred...” she blushed a bit “since when”.

Elsie sighed as she blushed harder “I mean... forever, the first day I existed I was... I mean...” she cleared her throat “a long time” she muttered “though occasionally a dick is nice...” .

Anne looked surprised “what? You’re always so straight laced and militaristic, where has this elsie been?”.

Elsie chuckled weakly “I like to keep it professional when I’m working”.

“I don’t know, you fluff around an awful lot for someone who keeps her mind on professionalism” Anne teased.

“Look, sex is different than jokes” elsie argued weakly.

Anne smiled “ok, I’ll agree to that, so since we are on the topic, what’s your type?”

Elsie blushed further “I mean... uh, well, I have... a lot... i mean I kinda just well...” she cleared her throat “you need to clarify the question” she muttered.

Anne chuckled “what do you mean?”.

Elsie shifted to Lay on her back and crossed her arms awkwardly “if I was looking for someone for a relationship it would be different for just a night out” she admitted “frankly, I kinda just... well... like sex... mostly” she muttered.

Anne looked surprised and sat up to look at her “you’re telling me that you of all people don’t mind the odd one night stand? I always thought of you at the white knight type, aka, dry as a bone”.

Elsie laughed awkwardly “uh, no, complete opposite, I love to be loved” she admitted.

Anne smiled and playfully topped her “so now you have me curious since you mentioned it, what do you like in a sexual partner?”.

Elsie cleared her throat, clearly having trouble focusing on her words as she blushed deeply “I uh... uh... I mean... women mostly...”.

Anne gave her a cheeky smile “are you having trouble focusing?” She mused.

Elsie bit her lip, and avoided her eye “perhaps...”.

Anne sighed “I didn’t know you could be this cute” she admitted “how long has it been?”.

Elsie sighed “since before you left” she muttered “I uh... I couldn’t get into the mood... guilt is powerful” she muttered.

“Well that explains why your falling apart all over the place” Anne admitted.

Elsie nodded with a blush “Can you uh... move... Im sure your not in the mood to be...” she trailed off with embarrassment.

Anne nodded and shifted with a sigh “sorry, I got carried away, and it’s easier not to move these days” she admitted “although I almost wouldn’t say no, about the only complaint I have out here is I can’t just go scratch my itch anymore” she sighed ‘it’s getting hard to do it myself too”.

Elsie took some deep breaths but remained looking flustered “it’s ok, you know I’d offer but I’m not sure if that is dangerous or not” she admitted “I thought you preferred men?”.

“I do, but beggars can’t be choosers out here” she chuckled with a blush.

Elsie sat up with a sigh and turned to face her “I suppose you have a point”, her eyes searched the hunter thoughtfully for a moment and sighed “you’re beautiful, you know that?”.

Anne looked unsure “in this condition? Sure...”.

Elsie shook her head “no, you’re condition doesn’t make a difference, it even helps, you just look absolutely ethereal” she admitted before bringing a hand to the hunters cheek “it brings out your light and it’s just stunning, not to mention you look... happy almost, strange right?”. 

Anne blushed deeply “it sounds like you have a thing for awoken...”.

“I do” elsie blushed and pulled away “I love the feeling they give, both male and female, you can feel their light as they love you, feel it move and pulse, it’s why I love sex so much, I love feeling my body in the moment, moving beyond the dick in me I guess”.

Anne looked unsure “I don’t think I’ve ever paid that much attention” she admitted before looking awkward “it sounds like I’ve never had good sex in my life compared to you”.

Elsie sighed “you are making it so difficult for me to behave” she blushed “I want to do nothing less than blow you mind right now” she admitted “maybe we should change the topic”.

Anne chuckled “ok, on a less steamy topic, how is skye?”.

Elsie cleared her throat “well... she was pretty cut about you leaving too, but she took it less personally than I did... slightly” she looked distant with a small smile “she recovered quicker than I did this time... unusual for Skye...” she sighed with subtle admiration.

Anne looked a bit guilty “sorry... she is doing ok then?”

Elsie nodded “she’s keeping herself extra busy with work but she’s fine other than worrying about you” she bit her lip “i suppose you’d like me to be quiet about all of this?” She motioned to the room.

Anne nodded “I’d rather have just one over-worried mum rather than two” she admitted.

Elsie chuckled “you know we worry because your out here risking your life rather than staying safe at the tower”.

Anne chuckled “well, yeah, but still”.

The titan looked defeated “you’re the worst”.

The hunter nodded “so when are you going home?”.

Elsie shrugged “no idea, I should go home today, but honestly... I’ve missed you, I can’t talk to skye like I can you” she admitted.

Anne smiled “aww, I feel important” she sighed before blushing “in that case... would it be too much to ask if we could uh... cuddle?” She trailed off awkwardly.

Elsie chuckled and offered her hands to help shift the hunter and she settled behind and wrapped her arms around her gently “I think I can manage that” she smiled with a blush.

Anne relaxed almost completely against the titan and sighed “I’ve missed company” she admitted.

“I can tell” elsie nodded, after a few minutes of comfortable silence, elsie gently put her hand on the hunters stomach lovingly and Anne smiled so the titan started rubbing gentle circles making Anne let out a relaxed sigh, she then slowly brought her hand up, sliding it up her armour past her plump breasts and Anne’s breath hitched as if she wasn’t expecting it but she also wasn’t against it.

Elsie smiled and leaned over to her ear as she gently grabbed her breast making Anne whimper and breath quicker “I think your craving to be more than cuddled” she mused playfully.

Anne shifted to look at her with a deep blush “no body has touched me like this for months... I can’t help it” she muttered weakly.

Elsie smiled “I can fix that for you if you like” she murmured lovingly, her voice heavy with suggestion and she caught the hunters hand.

Anne giggled weakly looking entirely flustered but couldn’t find the words to say yes or no so elsie gently leaned into whisper “tell me to stop if you want”, this only made the hunter shiver and pant so elsie playfully nuzzled her making the hunter sigh, she then bit her ear playfully before bringing her lips to press gentle kisses down her neck as her hand gently played with her breast. Her other hand slipped past her stomach to slide between her thighs and Anne whimpered hungrily.

Elsie chuckled as she continued exploring the hunters thigh, heading down before going back to press against her lower parts and Anne started panting. “you know this armour... it’s going to be a problem...” the titan teased.

Anne blushed and she momentarily looked to the door to check they were still alone before nodding and dust stripped her off everything but her jumpsuit, Anne’s breasts were leaking as her nipples stood hard against the sleek cloth. “Mmm, god your sexy...” elsie murmured “I love nothing more than driving someone crazy” she admitted playfully as both her hands found their way to the hunters thighs and she dragged them down her thighs before lifting and spreading her Legs apart and Anne looked weak.

Elsie brought a hand up drag it over her stomach before following her body gently but there was an edge of hunger as she continued to cup her breast in her hand and she squeezed her nipple between two fingers making Anne whimper hungrily, the milk that escaped didn’t bother the titan, her other hand slid down below her stomach to start rubbing against her playfully. Elsie once more Brought her lips to the hunters neck and shoulders before giving her love bites with a chuckle.

Elsie paused much to the hunters disappointment to bring her hand up to unzip the hunter slowly “what’s wrong, I’m not nearly finished with you yet” she assured playfully before shifting to top the hunter and She made her lay down as she positioned herself between her legs.

Anne looked a mix of hungry and afraid before as elsie pulled open her jumpsuit to press more kisses against her bare skin, she let out quiet whines, elsie finally kissed up the nap of her neck before pausing above the hunters lips, almost as of she was giving her time to say no but since she said nothing, she pressed her lips against the hunters gently and the hunter didn’t fight her, replying passionately and they made out hungrily before breaking apart with a hungry gasp and elsie continued to pepper her body with loving kisses, she finally brought her lips down to the hunters nipple and licked it playfully, Anne moaned weakly at the attention and elsie didn’t seem to care about the milk as she continued to lick and tease before moving to the other so that it wasn’t forgotten. 

She finally brought her hands into it and she slipped them under her jumpsuit to trace lovingly over her form, one however ended up beneath her while the other went down stars where the hunter was already wet and sensitive, just dragging her fingers past made Anne whimper hungrily and as elsie returned to kiss her hungrily, she slipped a finger inside making Anne pant and shudder as she started to push further inside and start working her lovingly.

The hunter was completely at the titans mercy. elsie didn’t miss anything and she was particularly devious when she noticed the hunter about to come. elsie let her go playfully making Anne complain weakly “that’s for leaving like you did” she mused playfully.

Anne whimpered “your not just leaving me like this are you?” She whispered.

Elsie looked thoughtful before smiling “of course not... I’m not that cruel” she mused before continuing to work her hungrily and finally she allowed the hunter to come, anne went limp as she moaned the titans name breathlessly. She was left looking utterly exhausted but completely satisfied.

Elsie smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead before covering the hunter up once more “feeling better?”.

Anne nodded weakly “Much... I cant move” she whimpered.

Elsie chuckled “I still got it then” she teased.

Anne looked dazed “I feel bad... I can’t do the same for you”.

The titan shook her head “don’t feel bad, I get to go back to the tower, I can deal with myself later” she assured “you can’t”. She got up and stood with a stretch, she still looked quite flushed however.

Anne watched her with amusement “who ever gets you is going to be one lucky woman” she smiled. 

“While I’m working, I’m not sure I’ll go out to find someone permanent... I don’t have time to put into a proper relationship” elsie admitted.

Anne shifted lay down more comfortably on her side with a sigh “I guess I understand that sentiment... if you did have to pick someone, who would it be?”, she asked curiously.

Elsie sat down once more beside the hunter “well honestly I have my eye on this one...” she blushed deeply “she looks incredible, but she’s so sweet and loving.... I think I’d like someone like her... but I don’t think it would work, I work too much and I don’t think she feels the same” she admitted “sometimes it looks like she might but I can never tell because she just...” she sighed looking distant “she’s way out of my league” she smiled “I couldn’t keep up with her if I tried”.

Anne listened with interest and smiled “does this mystery woman have a name?”.

Elsie looked indecisive before looking a bit embarrassed “uh... Skye...” she chuckled “I know, it’s weird, she’s one of my best friends... but...” she looked almost sad “I can’t help it...”.

Anne looked surprised “you have a crush on skye?!”.

Elsie nodded “I guess I do...”.

Anne thought about it for a moment “how do you hide something like that? How do you hide this side of you?”.

Elsie shrugged “it’s just not important so I don’t need to bring it up or make it obvious, we are guardians first and foremost, things like love and stuff, they just don’t fit” she sighed “don’t get me wrong, it’s cool being a hero, saving the day... all that noise... but it’s lonely sometimes, and it’s not the type of loneliness a ghost can fix”.

Anne had never thought about it like that before and she realised the titan was right, being a guardian was kind of a lonely life in a way, celebrated but never allowed to live their own life, only living for others, she rested a hand on her stomach thoughtfully. Her accident had changed her fate but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. 

Elsie sighed “huh, usually your the downer, sorry” she chuckled “do you think you could ask your friends if there’s a bath nearby?” She mused “I don’t know about you but I could use one”.

Anne laughed “sure, I think I can manage that... maybe... can you help me up so I can get dressed?”.

Elsie nodded and did as asked so dust could redress her, Anne was a bit unstable but after a moment she walked over to the door to look for someone and she noticed two vandals standing guard, one each side of the door and Anne got their attention so that one of them raced off, likely to go get Mithrax. 

Anne returned back to sit beside elsie with a sigh “you know, you surprised me a lot today”.

“Hmm? How so?” Elsie mused.

“Your a lot more private than you let on” Anne smiled “no wonder we get along so well”.

Elsie smile “not necessarily, it’s just that no one asks at the right time, but yes, it’s probably one reason we get along so well”.

They looked to the door as the forcefield came down and Mithrax walked in before pausing and chuckled before continuing and he approached the two “morning treat you well, good morning” he greeted.

Both guardians blushed “ah, yeah...” Anne replied awkwardly “is there somewhere to wash ourselves? To clean up?”.

“Water?” Mithrax clarified. Anne nodded and he continued “lots of water, follow, then eat” he promised and waved them along as he started leading the way. Elsie stood and her armour phased around her before she helped Anne up so they could follow. 

They headed back down into the lower areas of the factory and it seemed to not be as crowded, perhaps the fallen had just spread out through the factory but it felt a lot more comfortable to walk around with a lot less eyes on them. They escaped the crumbling fortress and kept for following the building around until the reached the end and there was what remained of an old fence and some bare almost invisible overgrown steps that led down into a lower valley, a gently flowing river ran past the building and into the distance, it didn’t look very deep or seem to move very fast.

Mithrax pointed to the water “I leave guards so you... clean up, as you say”.

Elsie looked at him thoughtfully “where did you learn to speak like that?”.

“Speak common? Many friends teach misraaks” he explained “friends gone, memories remain, Anne teach, all light holders teach new words” he looked thoughtful “elsie teach”.

Elsie looked guilty “I wish I’d taught something better” she sighed “would you allow me to start again?”.

“Meet again?” Mithrax looked unsure.

Elsie nodded and offered her hand “elsie, a pleasure to meet you, I am sorry for my actions yesterday, I hope the damage I did isn’t irreparable”.

Mithrax chuckled “ah, understands” he offered one of his hands in return to shake, he had obviously seen this greeting before “mistakes made but can learn, understands worry, but to think, good”

Elsie laughed “yes, your right, I had a moment of weakness, but I assure you, I appreciate all you have done for my friend”. 

Mithrax looked amused “keep safe, as promised” he growled as he nodded “guards bring back, take misraaks, guards take to misraaks” he explained before turning and heading back up to the factory leaving the two guardians. 

The ghosts stripped the guardians of their armour once more leaving them in their jumpsuits and while elsie still looked quite clean mostly, due to Anne’s condition and elsies help, around her breasts were quite gross so they both stripped down completely before elsie helped Anne into the water. At one point, this might have been a manmade water canal but the structure was crumbling and was more of a natural river now. The water was naturally quite cool but once they had gotten used to it, it wasn’t that bad and they started by washing out their jumpsuits and hung them in a tree to dry before they took time to wash themselves.

Anne was a bit embarrassed, while she had seen the titan in short shorts and singlets, elsie was quite attractive and it really showed when you saw her bare, her body was almost sculpted perfection with little to no extra fat, wearing titans armour appeared to be no joke and I guess it worked out because she wore her armour pretty much every day. Her assets were a bit small but everything else made up for what she lacked. Elsie gave her a cheeky smile when she caught her staring “you see something you like?”.

Anne blushed “uh.. I mean...” she sighed “you look ridiculously good” she muttered “I’m a bit jealous...”.

Elsie chuckled “eh, I’ve always wished I was a bit better on top” she smiled “but it’s my own fault, you lose a lot of your fluff when you tone up too much, but I guess that’s a titan problem”.

Anne laughed “what a problem to have, a perfect body but no boobs”.

Elsie gave her a cheeky smile “it doesn’t stop me from blowing your mind”. 

Anne blushed “Your never going to let me live that down are you?”.

“Not until I have a reason too” she mused.

“What reason could possibly free me?” Anne asked playfully.

Elsie smiled “it’s probably not polite to bring up if I get a girlfriend, unless she is you but I seriously doubt that would work, we’d probably kill each other”.

“I’d probably agree” she admitted before smiling “Guess it’s time to play matchmaker” Anne chuckled “I wonder what Skye thinks of you”.

Elsie blushed deeply “don’t you dare, there’s a reason I haven’t said anything” she muttered “I don’t want to ruin our fireteam”.

Anne sighed “aww, but you guys could be so cute together” she mused before nodding “don’t worry, I won’t say anything” she promised.

Elsie looked grateful “thanks”.

Anne looked up to the factory and two guards stood watching over the area but they seemed to be avoiding watching the guardians as much as possible. She then looked to elsie “so there’s something I’ve been wondering about...” she blushed deeply.

“Hmm?” Elsie looked at her with amusement.

Anne bit her lip “well, it’s just you put so much... uh, effort... into this mornings... session” she sighed “it was incredible but, it kinda felt like you uh... liked me more than... well you know...” she trailed off awkwardly.

Elsie smiled “well if your worried that I love you, I do, as a friend exclusively, so don’t worry” she pat Anne’s shoulder playfully “I just prefer to put in more effort than necessary because I love the feeling of being loved rather than just being fucked, there’s a difference and that’s why it felt like that for you” she nodded “and plus, you seemed like you needed some real love, so I loved you”.

Anne looked thoughtful “it’s an interesting way to think about it... it’s almost like your playing with people in a way”.

“Some people get confused, but it doesn’t take long to correct a thought, I’m a heartbreaker” she asssured “but I don’t mean for it, to play with people, I just think that sex can be more than a fling, even if it’s just a one night stand, you know?”.

Anne nodded “I get it, or at least I do now” she looked to the titan “I still feel like I should make it up to you, you’ve both made my day and set me up for a lot of disappointment down the road I’m sure” she sighed.

Elsie laughed “really, it’s fine. while I could absolutely go for sex done right because I’m always a step away from horny. I’m pretty sure your not up to a round two, not with me while your in that condition”

Anne looked thoughtful before shifting to sit on the titans lap with a blush and she wrapped her arms loosely around her shoulders before tilting her head playfully “a step away? Really”.

Elsie immediately blushed and avoided her eye “uh... yeah...”.

“Your absolutely sure there’s nothing I can do to inspire you even?” Anne mused.

Elsie took a deep breath “Your plenty inspiring...” she murmured “I’m trying to behave here”.

Anne chuckled “maybe I can’t please you like you want but maybe I could help you...”.

Elsie looked torn before swallowing hard “I mean... if you really... you don’t...” she trailed off awkwardly, she looked like she wanted too but she was fighting with herself “I really shouldn’t”.

Anne blushed as she leaned over to whisper in her ear “come on elsie... you deserve pleasure too...” she teased. Elsie closed her eyes and let out a whine as Anne slowly took her will, and anne chuckled as she brought a hand down to trail down the titans chest “let me help...” she whispered seductively.

Elsie finally seemed to break and looked at Anne with hunger before pulling her into a passionate kiss and she brought her into a loving embrace where elsies hands explored the hunters form hungrily. When they finally broke apart with a gasp to catch their breath, elsie let her go breathlessly to reposition the hunter before placing one oh her hands on her thighs and the other on her breast breathlessly “be slow but deliberate in everything you do, if you notice something I like, see how far I like it, try and have fun”.

Anne nodded, elsie had shown her where to start and she was nervous but after finally breaking her, she determined to help her friend who had done so much for her. as she tried to do as as elsie had done with her, it was almost electric as she figured things out, watching the titan let out a whimper as she did something right. it gave her the confidence to try other things. She started by feeling her way up the titans thighs and elsie closed her eyes with a comfortable sigh. She continued up to trace her fingers up her stomach and elsie let her head fall back as she enjoyed the sensation.

Anne blushed as she leaned forward to start pressing gentle kisses on her shoulder and elsie turned her head to open up to her so she kept going as she brought a hand back up to her breast and the titan shivered. Despite being a bit on the the small side, there was still enough to grab in her hand and she dragged her fingers to her nipple getting a whimper from the titan. Anne lifted herself to pull the titan into a hungry kiss and elsie responded equally so the hunter took the time to explore her body with her hands, when they finally broke apart, elsie caught one of the hunters hands and led her downstairs where she helped guide the hunter and as she got it right, elsie panted breathlessly and enjoyed the sensation with hungry whines, she then guided the hunters finger inside her and taught her how she liked and once she had it, Anne knew, the titan gasped weakly and let out pleasured moans. 

Elsie Brought her free hand to her breast and started playing with herself as Anne worked with the titans guidance. Seeing this, Anne drew the titan into another passionate kiss and set her own free hand to trace lines down her thigh. elsie finally broke free breathlessly as she moaned the hunters name and whimpered with pleasure before resting on the the hunters shoulder weakly.

Anne freed herself gently and elsie sighed with pleasure before the hunter pulled her into a hug “feeling better?”.

Elsie nodded “that was great...” she murmured. It took a minute for elsie to recover and she looked relaxed “thanks, not too bad for a first attempt” she smiled.

Anne chuckled “I’m glad I could help” she went to get off the titans lap but elsie pulled her into a hug so she couldn’t escape.

“where are you going, I’m not finished with you” elsie mused playfully.

Anne blushed “what could possibly be left?” She mused. 

“I have a friend that I want you to meet” else smiled and she over turned the hunter gently and repositioned before raising her hand and in her hands, a glass toy appeared. Anne looked surprised and then unsure, it looked to be a two sided strap on and elsie smiled before putting it into herself with a pleasured sigh and clipping it on “I am ravenous when you get me in the mood” she mused as she topped the hunter in the shallows and started attacking her lovingly.

Anne blushed deeply and she just couldn’t fight the titans advances as her touch was addictive. since elsie had explained it, she felt her light react to the titans touch and move as if she were willing it to move and on top of pleasure, she found herself letting out whimpers as the titan again, didn’t hesitate to play with almost every part of her, this time however she teased the hunter by rubbing against her with her dildo before pushing it inside her gently and working it inside her completely making Anne let out a hungry moan. 

Elsie took hold of one of her thighs to hold her in place before leaning in to pull the hunter in to a hungry kiss before she pulled away and and started thrusting into the hunter gently with pleasured moans. It took a moment to find where Anne liked it but once she found it, She let out loud moans of pleasure. with the combination of her thrusts and elsie knowing where to touch, Anne found herself once more coming to the titans advances.

Elsie finished off the attack with a loving cuddle and kiss on her forehead before leaving the hunter to recover and she cleaned herself up once more before putting everything away and checking on the hunter “You ok?”.

Anne nodded breathlessly “yeah, your just... very tiring...”.

Elsie chuckled and helped her up “come on, I’ll carry you back once your dressed”. elsie helped her freshen up before carrying her to shore and setting her on her feet carefully. They had spent long enough that their jumpsuits were pretty much dry and elsie helped dry and dress the hunter before doing the same for herself and their ghosts put the rest of their armour on for them.


	7. A favour Returned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsie offers her Titan expertise to the eliksni cause.

Since they now felt much fresher, elsie like promised picked the hunter up and carried her upstairs towards the factory. The two vandal guards had retreated further up the wall where they could still watch over the two but they couldn’t see what the two were up too. On seeing the titan, they moved over to greet her with a nod. 

“We are finished, can you take us to Mithrax?” Elsie asked carefully.

They looked at each other before nodding to the titan and they started leading the way, elsie carried the hunter effortlessly, giving her some playful teasing and Anne just rested against her chest comfortably laughing.

Anne couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun and despite it coming from sexual advances and nonsense, she realised just how much she’d missed Elsie’s silly banter to break through the heavy reality she was stuck in. Even the act of holding her was comforting as she missed just how safe the titans presence made her feel, in Elsie’s arms, she knew that nothing on this earth would happen to her unless she died first. As she thought about it, she wanted to get upset about it knowing that elsie was eventually going to leave and the thought was terrifying so she tried not to think about it.

The vandals led them back to the throne room that was quite busy at the moment, various fallen spoke with Mithrax currently so the vandals left the guardians at the door and the titan quietly returned Anne to her makeshift set up and sat beside her to watch the proceedings with interest, at some point, they were given food as well.

It lasted about ten minutes as the extra fallen scrambled off at Mithrax’s order and he got up to approach the two guardians “friends, feel better?”.

They nodded “thank you, feeling much better” elsie replied, Anne looked tired but relaxed as she laid on her side comfortably.

“Mithrax leave but friends stay safe, Eliksni protect” he explained “stay, eat, rest”.

“Where are you going?” Elsie asked carefully.

The captain looked thoughtful as he looked for the words “problem, must go fix”.

Elsie looked worried “what kind of problem”.

“Light holder words, elinski network, need help, go help”. he tried to explain to what appeared to be to his best ability but it was clear that in some areas, he didn’t know a lot of common to help further a point, in fact he seemed better at conversation.

Elsie stood “can I help?”.

Mithrax looked surprised at this “want help eliksni?”.

Elsie nodded “I owe you that but I’m a titan, I can help on the front line, take some of the hits at least, so you don’t lose as many eliksni”.

Mithrax looked to Anne “how about friend?”.

Anne smiled “I’m fine, I’d offer to help too but I’m not in any condition to fight, as you probably know” she looked to elsie “I’ll be here, you know where I am, don’t let let me hold you back” she did her best to hide the anxiety that elsie leaving gave her.

Elsie gave her a smile and puched her palm in anticipation “I’ll see her when we get back” she promised “I am the front line, this is what I do” she explained.

Mithrax looked at her thoughtfully “so be it, come elsie, arm and fight, must move” he started leading the way quickly. elsie gave Anne a quick supportive smile before following and there was an air of urgency as other fallen moved to join them. After moving through the maze of rooms, they reached an enormous open area that stored a few skiffs and Anne’s ship hovered in wait in a less crowded area. It was still in perfect condition, waiting for its owners return. 

Elsie realised that she had seen into this room as she recognised the huge hole in the roof, she hadn’t seen anything inside it from her fly over though and now she knew why, the skiffs were using the remaining roof as cover. There were three skiffs who were now quite low to the ground and fallen were climbing in to populate the ships, Mithrax started giving out orders as they approached and he turned to elsie “stay with mithraaks, when land, can go fight beside crew”. 

Elsie gave a salute “yes sir”. A stealth vandal ran up to the titan with a growl and offered the titan her weapons looking a little uneasy but the titan took each and inspected them before they returned to her inventory and she gave the vandal a respectful nod. Elsie then followed Mithrax into his ship and it was facinating walking through the fallen who were quickly preparing for take off. They ducked their way through a small maze to reach a small room with a glass cockpit and vandal sat waiting for takeoff orders. The rest of the room was a command room that a few captains and higher ranking vandals seemed to be waiting in, they stood to attention as Mithrax entered. Elsie shifted to lean against a wall out of the way and she pulled out her helm of saint-14 to put it on “sparks, can you translate?” She asked quietly.

“I’ll give it a go” she promised.

As the ships took off, it was a surprisingly smooth ride and they backed up before escaping the building through the hole in the roof. Mithrax waited until they were flying before standing in the centre of the room and informed his men of the situation, sparks did her best to translate.

“We received broken calls for help, a group of eliksni hiding in old human structure, they were ambushed by red metal warriors, they retreated, found themselves trapped in dark den, must kill red warriors to reach” Mithrax explained.

One of the other captains stepped forward “what if darkness takes them already”.

“We go anyway, kill dark infestation” he replied before pointing to the speaker “you and men protect ship, lead outside eliksni”, the captain nodded and Mithrax pointed to the next “you come with misraaks, we fight together”. There was no complaints as he gave orders before reaching a third captain “you stay with light holder elsie, she protect, you lead, you will go in dark den first, send elsie first”.

The captain looked at the titan uncertainly “why? How will I work with her, what if turns on us, has done once”.

“Kill if she turns, but elsie is a friend, she will not turn, she offered to help” Mithrax explained.

“I can’t talk to her, not like you can” he argued.

At this elsie straightened up awkwardly “uh, Mithrax?”. 

All eyes turned to her and she had the leaders attention “yes friend”.

Elsie knocked on her helmet “I can understand some eliksni, my ghost understands and tells me, but I can show you some signals that can work as an order rather than speaking if that makes it easier”. 

Mithrax chuckled “ah, ghost clever, good” he replied in common before he moved over to the captain and continued speaking in eliksni “friend tell you how to lead her”.

Elsie nodded and held her fist up in a stop symbol “this mean stop, do this, I stop and hold my ground” she let Mithrax explain and the captain replicated it before elsie showed her the basic hand signals for moving forward, search and retreat, once the captain was satisfied. “One other thing, please don’t fear my light, it will not hurt you” the titan assured “it will protect you”.

As Mithrax explained, the captain looked wary and pointed out the helmet “helmet means death, how can we trust?”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful before approaching the titan “helmet creates fear, causes death, Takes sight, eliksni fear helmet” he explained.

Elsie looked thoughtful “please, allow me to prove that my helmet can be used for good”.

Mithrax looked unsure “how”.

Elsie looked a little nervous “all I can do is ask you to trust me”

“Hmm” he took a moment before nodding “trust friend”.

Elsie took a deep breath before stepping to the side and throwing her hands out, smooth purple light burst out around her creating the bubble which caused so much fear in the fallen ranks, the leaders immediately looked uncomforatable and even Mithrax looked uncertain for a moment but elsie straighted up, she put her hands up “this bubble will protect anyone inside and will make their attacks stronger when they leave the light”.

Mithrax looked fascinated and brought a hand up to feel the edge of the bubble but despite looking solid, his hand went through it “no wonder titans feared...” he looked to the other leaders returning to eliksni “there is nothing to fear from friends light”.

Elsie allowed the fallen to investigate the bubble nervously to calm them down before bringing the bubble down and elsie let the briefing continue.

It took about 45 minutes to get to their destination and Mithrax approached elsie “fight well friend, follow leader, protect”.

Elsie gave Mithrax a salute and as her group captain moved to leave, elsie followed, taking out her auto rifle, arming and turning off the safety. they would drop first and it was thrilling as they moved out to the open hangars where adds dropped from, one wall was essential just cut out while the other was covered in strong netting that was there to grab onto as the ship moved. Seeing the earth moving beneath them made elsies heart race and feel a little sick since they were still moving quite quickly but it was obvious when the ship slowed to a stop and the fallen knew without being told, they jumped down to the ground fearlessly. Elsie didn’t hesitate to follow and softened the landing with some help from her boost.

Elsie took position at the front of their group and their targets were in front of them, a harvester had landed for refuelling and it was protected by a large platoon of red legion soldiers. At the captains signal, the group moved forward and as the red legion noticed the attacking force, elsie put up a temporary shield for the fallen forces before moving up to engage with the cabal. This was pretty basic stuff, elsie took a few hits but for the most part, she took the grunt of the fight while the fallen behind her backed her up.

It looked like the fallen took a second to adjust to not fearing the titans light but it was obvious they appreciated the help the titans abilities offered. It was a short fight as once Mithrax’s group joined them, the cabal were quickly over whelmed and defeated. Elsie didn’t hesitate to let herself into the harvester to check if there was anyone inside before letting sparks search for any useful information that she could return to the vanguard. finding nothing, she picked up a few cool looking weapons before returning to her group.

The captain looked a little awkward but gave her a nod before indicating that their group was moving on and they headed towards a cement structure in the distance. It was unclear as to what it was because most of the structure was rubble but the entrance led down into the ground into cracked rock. Elsie took point once more and it was immediately obvious that hive lived here as their were signs of webbing, dark coral like deposits and hive sludge, it didn’t spell much good for the team of fallen that were lost here.

With the occasional stop, they made their way deeper into the earth until they broke into a large cavern that was infested with hive and that was when they found thrall that immediately sensed the titans light. Elsie indicated for the fallen to stop for a minute before sprinting into the room and the thrall only had eyes for her, she used this to her advantage and once the thrall had grouped up, she boosted into the air and dropped her grenade into the middle of them. With an explosion of void light, the hive disintegrated into purple light.

When she was sure she’d got them all, punching the few that had escaped the grenade, she indicated the fallen could move forward. She did this a few times until they broke into more heavily defended areas and they had to pick off some acolytes and knights, elsie took on the sword knights that approached them and ensured they didn’t reach her forces. 

It was surprisingly easy to work with the fallen and the dregs seemed to take to following elsie because they fought in a similar way, more prone to run into a fight while the vandals hung back as fire support. Elsie was naturally the biggest threat in the group as well as the most interesting so for the most part, the hive were more concerned about what elsie was doing rather than what the other adds were doing and the fallen took advantage of this greatly. 

Things changed as they found themselves in a dead end encrusted with hive gunk so elsie pulled out sparks “what can you find?”.

Sparks was still a bit wary of the fallen but scanned the area thoughtfully before lighting up a particular area of crystallised gunk in elsie helmet before returning to her armour “shoulder charge there, there’s an opening leading down but there’s a bit of a drop so just be careful, it seems quiet but I don’t know what else is down there, I do sense some fallen signals though, so maybe they haven’t been sacrificed yet” she muttered.

Elsie nodded before turning to her crew and motioning to retreat a bit so she could get a run up, the fallen looked confused as elsie stood back and took off with sprint and threw her weight into the wall, making it crumble explosively as she fell through it. She couldn’t land before her momentum caused her to trip and she fell off the small area on the other side before tumbling over the edge. The fall wasn’t that long but elsie landed and rolled before coming to a stop and elsie sighed. 

“smooth” sparks chuckled.

Elsie chuckled “hey, I gotta make an entrance right”, she got up as the fallen started climbing down to to follow and they followed the rest of the tunnel down to stop with sick horror, elsie recognised what this place was, it was a breeding ground and glowing sacks hung from walls ceilings and hive built columns, elsie looked to the fallen with worry and pulled out a knife before moving forward and as she walked past, she pierced and cut open each sac they passed. They burst open and thick liquid escaped them with the occasional malformed creature that elsie would finish off, the job was sickening and even the fallen seemed disturbed at what the titan was doing. 

The breeding ground was extensive but they finally opening up to a more cavernous area and they found a group of fallen that looked terrified. On seeing elsie, they scurried to pick up their weapons and a dreg fired at her with a scared growl, elsie took it with a flinch and went to raise her hands indicating that she was friendly but a loud screech broke through the silence and out of the gunk surrounding them clawed thrall, pulling themselves out with hungry screeches. Elsie immediately moved to the centre of the room where the fallen were and popped her bubble to protect them and her crew followed her quickly as the hive begun to swarm around them. 

The new fallen were confused but it seemed like the situation was briefly explained so they were no longer hostile to elsie. The situation had quickly become dire and the titan wasn’t sure what to do for a second, it was easy to kill the thrall that wandered into her bubble as they became blinded but after a second she grabbed the captain to get his attention “I stay, you run” she motioned the the other fallen before motioning to the way they came and the captain understood. Elsie then threw a grenade to clear the path forward so the fallen could break free. 

The captain left last and gave the titan a conflicted gaze before leaving, elsie followed once she had given them a head start, and they managed to escape a few rooms before elsie became completely cut off from the fallen and despite putting up a valiant effort, the last blow was a heavy sword strike to her shoulder and she fell with a pained cry. She looked up to see the hive crowd around her and the knights that had struck her down grabbed her roughly with a low growl like chuckle and begun to drag her back the way she came. 

It’s was well known that to fall to hive was one of the most painful ways to die and it was often permanent so a sense of dread settled heavily in the Titans gut. She put all of her remaining strength to break free in desperation and managed it but she didn’t get far before smoke surrounded her she tripped over something on the ground that she couldn’t see. Elsie went to get up but faced a wizard who held a hand towards her and its hand glowed before elsie felt a tearing sensation all through her as she felt her light leave her by force, she tried to resist but collapsed letting out a loud cry as the pain became too much, she didn’t notice it stop until she felt herself being pulled up and dragged but she could barely walk let alone focus on what was happening. She heard the cry of a dying wizard somewhere and fallen chatter before she was picked up by what she guessed was a fallen captain, she blacked out after that.

When she stirred next, her body was on fire and just moving made her whimper painfully. Everything was black as she realised her helmet was deactivated but it flickered to life “elsie! Your awake!”.

Sparks voice sounded loud and relieved making elsie flinch “sparks?” Elsie asked weakly “are you ok?”.

“Yeah, it sucked but it’s nothing compared to you” she assured “you should rest”.

Elsie looked around weakly and she found herself in a room by herself, it looked as though she was in a skiff and she found herself on a pile of scrap fabric that was relatively soft. “Where am I?”.

“I’d guess this is Mithrax’s quarters, he put you here to rest” sparks explained “we are heading home”.

Elsie sighed painfully “did everyone make it out?”.

“Yeah, you were the only one who almost didn’t” she sounded worried “why do you always do that... one day the hive will actually kill us if you keep dragging behind like that... using yourself as Bait is dangerous”.

Elsie chuckled weakly “hey, you know how I work, first in, last out... I save who I can”.

“I wish you were a little less noble sometimes” sparks muttered.

“don’t worry, I’m tough, I’ll make it” elsie assured. she groaned as she shifted painfully and pulled off her helmet to get some fresh air, not that it was entirely fresh, the room had a musky smell but it was good enough and that was about all the strength the titan could muster as sleep pulled at her “I might get some sleep...” she murmured weakly before letting sleep claim her once again.

She stirred once more as a hand carefully nudged her and the pain woke her. After a moment of dizziness, she realised Mithrax crouched beside her “friend awake, friend safe, home”.

Elsie took a second to process the words but nodded “right... give me a second” she muttered and sighed painfully, she wasn’t looking forward to moving but she wasn’t one to let pain stop her usually. She took a deep breath before painfully willing herself to sit up with a pained groan and Mithrax stood to assist her to her feet. Elsie stumbled for a moment, leaning heavily on the captain before straightening up with pained whimpers, she couldn’t help but cry silently as every move burned.

Mithrax watched her but didn’t rush her “Titans strong as look” he chuckled.

Elsie chuckled weakly “thank you” she replied and with a deep breath, she nodded “lead the way”.

“Can elsie walk?” Mithrax asked “can carry”.

“I should be fine...” elsie muttered “I think”, at that Mithrax nodded and started leading the way through the fallen skiff and helped the titan down before leading her back through the factory, it was about halfway before elsie collapsed, unable to go any further and she threatened to black out. Mithrax crouched down to pick her up and elsie was too weak to be embarrassed. 

The titan was in a bad shape, for whatever reason, sparks hadn’t repaired her armour yet and there were large gashes in the metal down to the Titans leathers and she was covered with hive filth. Anne looked happy to see them until she saw the condition of the titan and she teared up and rushed over to walk with them “what happened, is elsie ok?”.

“Elsie hero, saved eliksni, dark magic hurt friend, wizard in common, that creature responsible” Mithrax explained “dark creatures in ground” he gently laid the titan down where Anne had left, she looked dazed and it was obvious she could barely move.

Anne looked horrified and sat beside her as she started crying. sparks appeared looking worried “the wizard started to rip her light away... she’s fine, but it will take some time to recover”.

“Elsie rest here, safe, with Anne, eliksni owe elsie debt” he growled before continuing “friend fine warrior, would make good captain”.

Anne chuckled weakly “funny you should say that, Elsie is called captain out in the field”.

Mithrax chuckled “friend has earned title, eliksni do not understand friends pain, but will help if can”.

Anne gently took the Titans hand and elsie squeezed it weakly with a sigh before slipping into an exhausted sleep “it’s ok, I can’t really do much either” she admitted tearfully “but to have our light ripped away... it’s about the most painful way to die imaginable for us, elsie didn’t die but if she did, she might not have come back at all...” she sighed and she ran her hand over the Titans armour “can I have some water?”.

"Do light holders fear dark creatures?” Mithrax asked curiously “eliksni bring water” he assured before getting a vandals attention and he gave the order.

“Guardians fear a lot of things... we talk tough but we have too, we protect the city, we aren’t allowed to be scared of the enemies of humanity... we call your dark creatures hive and while we hold some fear for all races, the hive are most terrifying...” Anne shivered “the things they can do to us... they have taken countless guardians over the history of the last city”.

“What does city think of eliksni?” He crouched to listen more comfortably.

“the eliksni is known as the fallen and while I have a new respect for your house, desperation drives other eliksni” she sighed “the fallen are known to be ruthless and will do almost anything to survive, it just means that often, we are forced to kill eliksni” she looked at mithrax “we have many tales about guardians who have taken down great fallen leaders, but equally as many showing the brutality of fallen”.

“We have story of powerful light holder, eliksni fear the story, fear he still exists, killed great solkis, kell of devils in great battle for the great machine” he looked thoughtful “eliksni lost battle, ran in shame, houses broken” he chuckled “light bearers too powerful, light bearers earned the great machine, deserve great machine”.

Anne looked surprised “your talking about saint-14” she looked to sparks “can I see elsies helmet? And take her armour off, I’ll clean it for her”. 

Sparks nodded and the helmet appeared in the hunters hands and the Titans armour faded into light before appearing on the ground beside her “I need to repair some things so maybe just skip past the chest for the moment”.

Mithrax looked at sparks curiously “ghost fix armour?”.

Sparks nodded “it just takes time with this much damage”.

“Clever ghost” he chuckled “great machines gift is powerful”.

Sparks looked shy, she would have blushed if she could “oh, I uh... I guess so...” she smiled coyly before going back into hiding.

Anne smiled and looked to the helmet in her hand, feeling the dent in the front plate “you spoke of the battle for twilight gap, it’s a legendary victory for the city, but saint-14 was bigger, he was the one who killed the kell... i heard that it took almost all of his light to do it and when it was almost over, he used this helmet to deal the final blow” she showed the helmet to the captain “this is Elsie’s favourite helmet, your kell left his mark on it”.

Mithrax looked at it carefully “saint-14... this killed solkis?” He looked a bit unsure.

Anne nodded “elsie could tell it better but toward the end of the battle, both solkis and saint-14 were at the end of the road, one had to kill the other and for a moment, solkis had saint-14 at his mercy” she chuckled “but saint-14 wasn’t having that so with the last of his light, he put it all into a head butt and solkis fell, the final cut was from the mohawk on his helmet... he left the city after that... he was never seen again, but his helmet and Legend remains”.

“To kill kell is great deed, this saint-14 won day well, eliksni can take pride in battle, lost to great light bearer” Mithrax nodded “saint-14 dead?”.

Anne nodded “I’ve seen him... he was killed by vex but he earned their respect even in his death”.

“Vex?” Mithrax repeated, they were interrupted by a vandal returning with a bucket of water and Anne gave a grateful nod before shifting to pick up an armoured boot and started cleaning it with care, Mithrax watched with interest “clean friends armour? Why”.

Anne smiled “well I don’t have much else to do and I owe elsie big time, she hates leaving her armour dirty so the least I can do is help her out” she looked thoughtful “as for vex, have you ever been off earth?”.

“Misraaks been many places” he nodded.

“Have you ever seen machine people, people made of metal, they have light in their stomach and strange heads” she used her hands to demonstrate.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “yes, metal people live on mechanical star near big ship wreck, took parts”.

Anne decided just to skip the last thing he said “Those things are what we call vex”.

“Vex... dangerous they are” Mithrax noted “light holders are interesting, know many things”.

Anne smiled “you’re equally as interesting” she assured.

Mithrax chuckled “misraaks admires hunter, willing to be friend, speak with eliksni, willing to understand, friend of house light” he stood “must go, ask for misraaks if need” he assured before heading out of the room. Anne watched him go with a nod and focused on the Titans armour, she cleaned up for a while until she got tired and despite the titan being a bit gross in places laid beside her supportively to have a nap, elsie woke a few times with vague pained nightmares but was quite content to go back to sleep seeing that Anne had made herself comfortable beside her.


	8. A Captain in the Making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mithrax finds a surprising familiarity in elsie.

Elsie took a day or two to recover before she felt up to heading home and as she armoured up to head off, she found herself facing a very upset and embarrassed hunter “sorry... I can’t... I don’t mean to cry...” she muttered with a sniff.

Elsie chuckled and pulled her into a hug “it’s ok, I get it” she gently put a hand on her stomach “your emotions aren’t your own right now”

Anne blushed before sighing “I’m going to miss you... I didn’t... well I’m glad to see you and spend time with you... it’s been...” she struggled to not break into tears “I’m just going to miss you”.

Elsie smiled “all you need to do is call me and I’ll be here if I can get away ok?” She sighed “now make sure you remember to tell me if you move on, I’d prefer you didn’t but tell me if you do or I’d I have to hunt you down again and I will kill you next time” she muttered.

Anne laughed “yes mame” she hugged the titan tenderly “thank you for everything, visit soon ok”.

Elsie nodded “of course” she gently broke away from the hunter and stood with a flicker of pain, she was still a bit tender from her visit to the hive “let me know if you want me to bring anything that isn’t urgent”.

Anne nodded and got up to walk with her and as they got to the door, two vandals started leading them. “Yeah, Um, I hope you don’t get in trouble... I’m sorry if you do...”

Elsie shrugged “I don’t mind if I do, they knew why I was out here, it’s a shame I couldn’t find you” she gave the hunter a smile.

Anne chuckled “you’re still the best... I owe you so much...” she muttered “I hate being in debt to people”.

Elsie laughed “you can make it up to me when we all get back to the tower”.

It was a few minutes before they reached the makeshift hangar and once there, they now saw Elsie’s ship floating underneath the green and gold dragonfly. Sparks had gone to get it with protection from Mithrax while elsie was resting. Elsie looked glad to see her ship and boosted up stiffly to check on the condition of it, the ship was untouched which the titan was relieved to see.

Once she was ready, she left the ship to give Anne a final hug with some tears “take care of yourself ok” she pressed a kiss to the hunters forehead “I’ll be back, I promise, but I just don’t have the excuse to not return home”.

Anne couldn’t help but start to cry again “I know... I’m gonna miss you”.

“I know” elsie sighed “you know it almost like you might actually love me” she teased.

Anne blushed deeply between sniffs “shut up... I just... I missed...” she swallowed hard “I’ve been lonely-“

She was cut of by elsie pressing a finger to her lips “I know...” she murmured before bringing a hand to the hunters chin to catch her gaze “you don’t need to say it, I read that’s it’s important to feel loved when your going through this... clearly you’ve needed some” she smiled gently.

Anne seemed indecisive but her tears were enough proof “what does that make us?” She asked quietly.

Elsie looked thoughtful “nothing more than friends with benefits, you are my precious friend carrying just as precious cargo, I just want you to be happy and healthy, for both of you” she assured gently “plus love shouldn’t be limited to one special person, not unless it’s a special kind of love” she smiled and leaned in to whisper “I’m at your service if you need it” she promised before pulling away.

Anne looked embarrassed “thank you” she whispered weakly.

Elsie chuckled “a Titans job is to help after all” she teased.

“I don’t think that’s what that means” Anne joked weakly.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it” she laughed.

Anne sighed looking embarrassed “god your obnoxious”.

“You love me” elsie mused.

“Your lucky I like you” Anne muttered “fly safe ok?”.

Elsie nodded and went to pull away before Anne hesitated awkwardly and she paused “yes?” She offered. Anne tried to speak before elsie gently put her hands on the hunters hips and leaned in gently and Anne met her with a kiss, wrapping her arms around the Titans neck, elsie pulled her closer gently, letting her hands playfully search the hunter. As the broke off breathlessly, elsie gave her a cheeky smile “was that what you wanted?”.

Anne nodded awkwardly with a deep blush “thanks”

Elsie pulled her into another kiss before letting her go “it’s a shame your not going to be like this forever...” she mused “one day I’m going to have to behave again, but I really do have to go unfortunately”.

Anne laughed “you behave? Sure”, she then sighed tearfully “I know, I’ll let you go, I promise”.

Elsie smiled and went to turn to her ship before being stopped once more by Mithrax’s approach “friend elsie, a moment, a gift from misraaks, from house light”.

Anne looked surprised “that’s not necessary” she chuckled.

“No, but as gift, saved my people, take gift” he insisted.

Elsie looked torn “ah, I guess I can’t refuse a gift” she smiled.

Mithrax chuckled “misraaks learned of your name, Captain, I give gift, elsie earned title of captain, I make elsie true captain” a dreg walked up on cue carrying what looked like a spiky lump of metal and gave it to the captain before scurrying off and a few other dregs hung behind him in wait with other things. Mithrax held it out to the titan revealing a fallen captains helmet. It was clearly designed for elinski and made of cleaned up scrap metal but elsie took it with awe “I don’t... this seems to much” she admitted.

“Elinski prove with power, action, you proved yourself a captain” he assured “elinski respect power, misraaks respect elsie”.

Elsie teared up and cleared her throat “thank you”.

“Captain must take weapons of captains” Mithrax continued and he took a set long thin swords with what looks like some sort gadget built into the handles, Anne let sparks take the helmet so she could accept them gratefully followed by a captains rifle that resembled lord of wolves. The last dreg then walked up to the titan and kneeled, holding its hands up, a small pistol in one hand and dagger in the other. “You welcome in house light”.

Elsie was blown away and while she couldn’t hold it all and had to put it in her inventory, she hung the small sidearm on her belt with the dagger and she offered her hand “if you ever need help with a cause, I will help if I’m able” she promised.

Mithrax shook her hand “made powerful friends today, fly safe light holder”.

Elsie smiled “of course” she sighed and jumped up onto her ship before scanning the fallen around her, it was a mix of dregs, vandals and even the odd captain besides Mithrax but they all looked up to her with respect, she gave Anne a final look before giving her a salute and dropping to her ship and after a few preparations, her ship hummed to life and sparks flew them out to head back to the tower.

Elsie tried her best to visit once a week at minimum and Anne stayed with the fallen for a solid month or so where she could rest in safety, it was when she breached the ninth month when she started getting a bit nervous and she decided that she really didn’t want to give birth in a fallen settlement so Anne asked for elsies help to find somewhere safe.

When the day came, Elsie landed early. the sun had barely risen as she was greeted politely with nods from the fallen that hung around. By now she knew her way around and didn’t need a guide to find Anne. she had been moved to her own room at some point and that’s where she went. like usual, it was guarded but normally vandals guarded her, it was a bit strange to see a captain guarding her but on seeing the Titans approach, the captain nodded and the blue forcefield opened so the titan could slip into the room, closing up again once she was inside.

Since it was so early, Anne was still asleep. The room perhaps might have been an office once but like everything in this factory, it was stripped down completely, it wasn’t completely empty however as in one corner was a large collection of scrap fabrics that made up the bed Anne slept on. The hunter had two large bags of belongings on the other side of the room and there was a few weapons and armour around as well. Since it was still early, elsie took off her armour and gently laid down beside the sleeping hunter and held her supportively and relaxed comfortably. Anne seemed to stir with a sleepy giggle and grab the Titans hand, she went back to sleep and elsie didn’t mind.

At this point Anne was huge, she only had a small frame so her stomach stood out greatly making her look even bigger than she was. Over the last few months, it appeared like the hunter and titan had begun a relationship but between the two of them, it was clearly a friends with benefits situation. the loneliness would drive Anne mad and when elsie would return, all the hunter would want was cuddles which occasionally turned into more heated affairs. The affect of Elsies attention quickly became obvious, the hunter was happier and more importantly healthier. while she did well when she wasn’t around, it was obvious how little motivation and company she had affected how good or bad she felt and Anne often found herself feeling anxious and depressed when there was nothing else to think of and as the third term was reaching its late stages, dust was able to help less and less.

Elsie had arranged for a few days off so she could help Anne out after she had voiced her concerns. she was beginning to feel self conscious about actually giving birth where she was, not that she had any other ideas of where to go. at the suggestion of the tower, Anne immediately said no because she didn’t want to be treated like some experiment and be the gossip of the tower, which was fair in some respects. They were supposed to figure it out today which was why elsie was here.

Anne didn’t stir until late morning and elsie had dozed off in the peace of the morning, the titan woke when the hunter started moving and yawned “ah, she’s up” elsie teased sleepily.

Anne chuckled “your one to talk... you just woke up” she murmured tired.

“Hey, I was up early just to get here so soon” she argued playfully “I could have just not got here so early and you would have missed out on cuddles” she mused before squeezing her gently.

“Ok ok...” she smiled “I appreciate it” she sighed “thank you... what were we doing today?” Anne asked lazily.

Elsie sat up gently and stretched “uh, good question... something about finding you a safe place or something” she shifted to top the hunter playfully.

Anne laid on her side and looked up at her with a blush “right, I still have no idea”

“Is that cause I’m here?” Elsie teased.

Anne laughed “no, but while you are here” she lifted a hand to pull elsie into a deep kiss and elsie didn’t fight her, replying lovingly and she shifted to lay down in front of her so she could pull the hunter into an embrace, Anne let out pleasured moans before breaking away breathlessly “I missed you”.

Elsie chuckled “you have to be one of my most satisfying repeat customers” she admitted.

Anne smiled “glad to know” she mused “but there’s more than one? Naughty naughty elsie”

Elsie laughed “you know it” she brought a hand to her stomach gently “how’s things?”.

Anne sighed “I just can’t be bothered moving...” she admitted “it’s getting heavy but otherwise, healthy according to dust, she think I could be a few weeks away” she looked a bit nervous “unless something happened sooner of course”.

“Do you really want to move from here?” Elsie asked gently “why don’t you stay, I’ll be here, I’m sure we can make this place private enough”.

Anne looked uncomfortable “I just... it feels weird to do... that... with fallen around, you know?”

Elsie sighed “ok, so then what do you suggest, this is after all up to you”.

Anne bit her lip “well I had a thought, I have a bunker over at Venus, but it’s a long way away and it could be dangerous to get too, and I kinda want to keep it to earth if possible”

“Venus is a very long way” elsie agreed “well tell you what, when was the last time you went for a flight anyway?”.

Anne chuckled “I cant comfortably get into my ship anymore, i can’t lift myself in and out of it” she sighed “it’s been a while” she muttered “that’s kinda why I’m asking for your help”.

Elsie smiled gently “had I known that, I would have brought a different ship” she admitted “but, how about, we take my ship and go for a flight and have a look around first”.

Anne lit up a bit at this “that would be perfect, have I mentioned how much I love you?”.

Elsie laughed “I can tell, you don’t need too” she pressed a loving kiss on her head “.

Anne smiled with a blush “you know, I’ve been thinking about it, you’d make a good partner”.

“Huh? Why’s that” she mused.

“Well think about it, ever since this all begun, you just took on the responsibility of looking after me without question” she bit her lip “even after I hurt you and left, when you found me again, you didn’t really get angry, I mean you were absolutely angry but more worried and then without question, you just gave me everything I needed...” she blushed “I just thought it was kinda interesting, you remind me of a hard working civilian husband without a lot of the spare time” she admitted “I know I’ve said it before but the woman who gets you is going to have the most dedicated partner I’ve ever seen besides our ghosts”.

Elsie blushed a little “you know flattery can get you a lot of places but I really don’t need anymore” she mused playfully “I’m already yours”.

Anne chuckled “no, I mean it, and you know I do, I don’t give out compliments to just anybody” she smiled “and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you”.

“God I’m going to miss this” elsie sighed “do you have to go off the market after this little one comes along?” She gently rubbed loving circles on her stomach.

Anne chuckled “I don’t know what’s going to happen”.

The titan sighed “your likely going to close right up again, scary things tend to make you do that” she smiled gently “but no natter what, I’ll continue to be everything you need, even if it means to leave you alone” she promised.

Anne looked grateful and pulled elsie into a kiss before cuddling up to her “how will I even pay you back... I already had a debt to pay...” she sighed.

Elsie laughed “you won’t, it probably won’t be necessary, now, do you want to go for a flight?” She mused “your going to have to get up”.

Anne looked thoughtful before sighing “I might need some help”.

“That I can do” elsie nodded and shifted to get up carefully. Anne rolled over into her back and offered her hands to the titan who pulled her to her feet and made sure she didn’t fall over again, her balance was now next to nothing.

Despite the small actions, Anne had to take a second to catch her breath, she had long ago ditched her armour, wearing only her jumpsuit under a loose linen dress that elsie had got for her since she couldn’t fit into her other clothes well. One of her hands naturally came to rest on her stomach as she looked thoughtfully to her armour “should I need my armour?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful, while the titan was certain she could protect her, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have it just in case, looking at her stomach though, she wasn’t sure it would fit. She looked to Anne “well, I want to say yes, just in case and maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be armed, not that I’ll take you anywhere dangerous, but.... I hate the idea of you being defenceless” she admitted “can you even wear your armour?” She asked carefully.

Anne nodded “dust can adjust it for me” she replied “it’s just a bit tight...” she blushed “and it makes me look huge” she muttered.

Elsie looked thoughtful “here’s a thought, why don’t you wear your dress under your plates but over your armour? Can dust do that?”.

Dust appeared “that’s a great idea, how didn’t I think of that...”

Elsie chuckled and looked to Anne “hows that?”

“Sounds great” Anne smiled.

Elsie helped the hunter undress and let dust put the hunters armour on, before slipping the dress back over her leathers and then it was just the plates, dust looked unsure before putting the hunters belt and cloak in the Titans hand “I’m not sure how you want to deal with that” she admitted “she can’t reach it from under her dress”.

The titan gave it some thought before looking to Anne “what’s what?, what do you need?”.

Anne chuckled “well realistically, I can probably only use my grenades that I keep here and my knife is tied here” she pointed them out “the rest is unimportant”.

After a moment elsie nodded “in that case, you can just do this” she carefully put the belt over her head and under her arm before tightening it gently so it sat comfortably across her chest before putting the cloak over her head and clipping it to her armour “done, now where is said knife?”. Anne pointed to her bag and elsie retrieved it to tie it to the hunters belt. “Of course, you shouldn’t need any of this but, I want to make sure you can protect yourself if you have too”.

Anne smiled gratefully “thank you”.

Elsie rearmoured quickly and when dust had everything she needed, they were good to go and headed to the door so the captain could let them out.

“So since when did you upgrade your guard?” Elsie asked curiously.

“Mithrax is getting a bit worried I suppose, I think he wants to have someone he can talk to directly, sometimes I hear the captain talking and dust says they are just reporting that I’m fine, it’s kinda nice” she admitted.

“Well before we go, I’d like to talk to Mithrax if possible” elsie smiled “I have something for him”.

Anne nodded “at this time, he is usually on the roof, follow me” she mused before taking the lead and they walked for a few minutes. It was a bit slower that it could have been but elsie didn’t complain, letting the hunter move as quickly or slowly as she wanted.

After taking some steps up, they finally surfaced on the roof which was a flat area that had a waist height wall surrounding it and there was a large radio tower that was in the centre, Mithrax was nowhere to be seen until they looked up and they could see him resting near the top of the tower. He looked quite comfortable as he crouched and held on to the old metal with two arms, the other two rested in his lap and he seemed to be watching the area surrounding the factory. It was quite cool to watch, he looked majestic. 

As Anne approached, he seemed to hear or smell her and he looked down before effortlessly climbing down to approach them “friends, long walk, could come to you” he assured.

Anne shook her head “I needed to go for a walk anyway” she admitted.

Elsie offered her hand in greeting “don’t worry, I’m not letting her out of my sight” she smiled.

Mithrax shook her hand and chuckled “Captain protect good, trust captain, why armour? Safe here”.

Elsie looked to Anne “we are going for a flight and I’d rather see her protected properly, regardless of if we go somewhere dangerous or not”.

“Flight where?” Mithrax looked uncertain “should Anne fly?”.

“Not by herself, but that’s why I’m here” she promised “we are taking my ship, it’s bigger, more protective and I’ll be there so nothing is getting close to her” she smiled “as for where, no idea, but Anne’s favourite thing is flying so I thought she might appreciate it”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “can send eliksni to protect”.

“I promise, that’s not necessary” elsie assured.

Anne nodded and put a hand on the Titans shoulder “elsie is a monster when she has someone to protect, I’ll be fine” she promised.

Mithrax laughed “Captain is monster, good, be ruthless, like eliksni” he nodded “will come back?”.

“Yes” elsie nodded.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “why don’t take captain with, as guard, help protect, just one?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful before looking to Anne “it’s up to you”.

Anne looked unsure “how big is your ship?”.

“It’s a cargo ship, it should be fine” elsie nodded “beyond the fact it doesn’t make me feel as sick, I like the space” she admitted “I hate feeling so claustrophobic”.

“I’ll think about it” Anne nodded.

“I walk to ship” Mithrax nodded “see guardian off?”.

Elsie nodded before looking curious “guardian? I thought we were light holders?”.

“Anne teach, city calls guardian, house light call guardian, call eliksni by name, not fallen, fair” he explained.

“That’s fair” elsie smiled. They started the trek back downstairs and through the factory and elsie took the time to catch up with what had been happening, as they reached elsies ship, elsie paused “right, I almost forgot, I have something for you” she smiled and in her hands appeared a large wrapped up piece of fabric of various colours, red being the largest of.

Mithrax looked surprised “gift?”.

Elsie nodded “I’ve been thinking about it for a while and you gave me the title of captain, I wanted to give you something as a...” she sighed looking for the word “something to represent my promise to you” she unwrapped the fabric and separated a folded up white flag with black shapes on it, a red with different black shapes and a bright orange one. a large metal badge was in the centre of it all and it held the cut up symbol that represented the titan order. Elsie offered the metal badge “it’s small but it’s a token of a Titans promise, you can always find help in a titan, in me”.

Mithrax took the badge curiously and looked it over “mark of elsie? Of titan?”.

Elsie nodded “these are the same, a symbol of my friendship” she offered the flags “you can hang these proudly if you wish”.

The captain took them thoughtfully and opened each flag curiously, the white was a large Titans hexagon, the red was a proud white lion on red. The third confused him as he saw bright yellow almost orange with cryptic circles and lines behind the visage of a hammer “titan have many marks?”.

Elsie nodded “yes, but they all mean the same, you can call on me for help”.

Mithrax chuckled “eliksni proud to make friends with captain” he looked over the cloth and trinkets thoughtfully “will hang with mark of house light” he decided.

Anne watched with quiet pride, sometimes it was hard to believe the situation they were in. once upon a time it would have been hard to imagine befriending a house of fallen, or eliksni as they preferred to be called, variks always said that guardians were a friend of the house of judgement but he was only one vandal, this was a whole house of fallen that they had undoubtedly befriended.

Anne was feeling a bit anxious about leaving the safety of the settlement and had pondered the thought of taking Mithrax up on his offer and she made her decision as she looked at elsie “mithrax, I think we will take you up on your offer, we will take your protection” she looked at elsie “just so elsie doesn’t have to work as hard to look after me, and I know you can” she added before elsie cut in “just in case”.

Elsie sighed “ok, I’m not about to argue with the lady” she smiled.

Mithrax nodded “good, was hoping, Misraaks go” he chuckled “want to see what captain does” he admitted.

Elsie chuckled “gosh, I’m being tested now, no pressure or anything” she mused “well then let’s go before the days ends and we are still standing here” she smiled and moved to Anne to pick her up “come on princess, let’s get you inside” she teased.

Anne blushed and crossed her arms with embarrassment “you’re obnoxious”.

Elsie smoothly boosted up onto her ship before helping Anne inside and looked down to Mithrax “we will leave when you’re ready”

Mithrax nodded and turned to bark out some orders before leaving his gifts in the hands of a vandal, weapons were put in his hands and he put them on his person before climbing nimbly up onto the ship and jumped curiously into the ship. He was immediately interested in checking out the various displays and lights, touching some parts with interest and he was almost like a cat in a new place as it was clear, if given the chance, he would have loved to play around inside the ship.

Despite mithrax’s size, the three fit comfortably in elsies larger ship and elsie stood to close the hatch manually before busying herself in the cockpit. Anne watched the fallen captain curiously “you seem to really like technology” she observed.

“Misraaks find technology interesting, use for own purposes, but guardian technology more interesting, works different, hard for eliksni to understand” he crouched “guardian interesting, different to eliksni, want understand”.

“What’s so interesting?” Anne asked curiously.

Mithrax looked thoughtful before moving to crouch in front of the hunter, she currently sat on a cushioned bench at the back of the ship and laid back lazily. The captain put a hand on the hunters armour “armour is confusing, so thin, clearly smart armour but how, interesting, your light interesting, how does work? What is light?”, he looked fascinated “how does captain blind, how does captain burn”.

Anne smiled “I have a friend who would love to meet you” she chuckled “honestly, I don’t know the answers to a lot of those questions, it’s just stuff we can do, the armour is run by our ghosts, so us guardians are almost puppets, but I can show you a cool trick” she pulled out her knife and held it in her hands before it burst into flame and she took the hilt before offering it to Mithrax “fire is safe, it’s made of light so it’s not real fire”.

Mithrax looked unsure but held out his hand to grab it with hesitation and he looked fascinated as he found that the fire didn’t burn him “can control fire?” He asked.

Anne nodded and let it go out “normally I can do more but using light is quite tiring for the moment” she admitted “elsie can do some really cool things though” she smiled “maybe you could ask her to show you sometime”.

Elsie laughed from the cockpit “are you throwing me under the sparrow Anne?” The ship had come to life with a hum and now it lifted into the sky for take off, escaping through the roof.

“Not at all” Anne teased.

Mithrax moved curiously to watch the titan take off “ship good, smooth, small but strong, like captains ship” he chuckled “ship like titan”.

Elsie nodded “and that’s the way I like it” she admitted “I’ll let you in on a secret, I don’t really like flying” she smiled.

Mithrax looked confused “captain flying now...”

“Yeah, but flying to fast makes me feel sick, I’m not a fan” she smiled.

“Flying make sick?” Mithrax looked unsure “strange weakness for guardian such as you”.

Elsie nodded “it’s my special weakness” she chuckled.

Mithrax chuckled “Captain strange, strong warrior but weak flyer... eliksni demote for less” he admitted.

“I’m just lucky I’m alright in a fight” she smiled.

The captain nodded and after watching the titan for a few minutes, he settled in the back of the ship comfortably. Anne just took the time to enjoy the flight, dozing of with the gentle sway of the ship. With no clear destination, elsie just flew in a direction thoughtfully, letting Anne relax.

after half an hour or so, elsie let sparks take over and got up to start going through her onboard storage making Mithrax look concerned “should captain leave controls?”.

Elsie looked confused before looking at the cockpit “oh, yeah, it’s fine, sparks has got it on auto pilot for me” she smiled.

“Sparks?” He repeated.

“Oh, my ghost, her name is sparks” elsie explained “my ghost is flying the ship”.

Mithrax looked fascinated once more “ghost powerful friend... what you doing?”.

“Me? I am sorting out my inventory, I haven’t had a chance” she smiled “I’m a bit of a clean freak” she admitted.

“Inventory?” He asked.

“Uh, it’s where I hold my stuff” she looked thoughtful “guardians don’t need physical space to hold a lot of their stuff” she mused “for example” she stepped back and in her hands appeared the rather large fallen rifle that Mithrax had gifted her, she sat down and started looking it over “I’ve been keeping this in my ship, haven’t had a chance to sneak it into the tower yet” she smiled.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “looks similar to eliksni, can move some things with teleport, but can’t stay in teleport, can guardian hold many things?”

Elsie nodded and the weapon left her hands “I often carry a lot of survival supplies, food, water, protective gadgets, that sort of thing, my personal inventory holds most of my weapons and armour however.

“Can see?” Mithrax asked curiously.

Elsie nodded and waved the captain over, pulling out a tablet to insert it into the ships cockpit and the window showing where they were flying changed to a picture of the titan in front of her sparrow. Words floated around the titan in places and she was surrounded by lines of boxes, each one featuring a piece of armour that matched what the titan wore.

Mithrax crawled over with facination “interesting...” he reached up to touch it curiously and it interacted to his touch making him look even more interested.

Sparks voice sounded from the cockpit “Uh, I might miss some words, but I think I’ve gotten pretty good at translating eliksni, maybe this might help”. The screen flickered briefly and the words on the screen changed into fallen script rather that city script.

The captain looked surprised and read with interest “shows life signs, health, rank...” he chuckled “ghost see all this?”

Elsie nodded “honestly, guardians aren’t nearly as cool as ghosts” she smiled “sparks is responsible for keeping my body in check among other thing, helps me store my stuff and gives me anything I might need, if I drop my weapon, she can put a new one in my hands instantly, if I die, she brings me back to life, as long as sparks is alive, I am a very annoying problem to my enemies” she chuckled.

“How does guardian get ghost?” He looked to the titan curiously.

Elsie leaned back comfortably “well, honestly sparks chose me, she existed first” she nodded “ghosts come from the traveller, no one really knows how or why but once they exist, their sole purpose in most cases becomes finding their guardian”.

“Ghosts choose guardian?” Mithrax looked confused “great machine chooses guardian?”

“I guess he does...” Anne nodded.

“Where is guardian?” He continued.

“Oh, well guardians can come from anywhere, guardians are chosen from the dead, I know I was born or created at mars, but Anne was found in old russia” she looked thoughtful “I know a guardian who was found in the stars personally”.

“And guardian was dead?” Mithrax checked with confusion.

Elsie nodded “ghosts and guardians make up one person, so ghosts who come first search for their other half, when they find them, well, you know the rest, we fight for the city, become hero’s” she shrugged “we exist to fight”.

“I have seen guardians die, killed many, but seeing come back is strange, unnatural, light powerful” Mithrax looked thoughtful and looked to the screen “once learned of guardian power, try not to kill guardian unless protect self, guardian fear eliksni”

“You are the second friendly eliksni I have met” elsie admitted “most guardians shoot on instinct, I imagine that most eliksni do the same, you have every right to fear the guardians, we are not always in the right” she admitted “we enjoy fighting”.

“Eliksni enjoy fight, but is barbaric” he looked thoughtful “try to stop fighting among eliksni, eliksni kill each other often, eliksni fallen far, never used to fight as much” he looked to the titan “what need guardians have for fight, to protect?”.

Elsie nodded “well yeah, but also to get stronger” she admitted “it’s become almost a game, guardians fight each other all the time to become better, we fight to kill” she leaned forward to slide her hands over the screen and it changed and with a few presses, even with the writing in eliksni, she found her way to a live feed and they watched a guardian running with a weapon in their hands. As it slid around a corner, it came face to face with a warlock and with a deafening bang, the warlock crumbled dead, before bullets came flying from nowhere and the feed showed the guardian collapse where they stood. Elsie changed the feed to one that seemed to hover higher in the air and it showed guardians running around a snow capped mountain in live fire exercises.

Mithrax looked stunned and watched quietly. “this is unexpected” he finally admitted “guardians become strong?”.

Elsie nodded “it’s a bit barbaric but yeah, it teaches us pain, speed and accuracy, when we die because we miss a target, we learn, we keep going until we don’t miss anymore and we train each other to do the same, this is crucible, you play to die over and over but the ghosts are protected so the guardians are safe, even in death” she smiled “out on the field beyond the tower, our ghosts aren’t protected, so we have to be strong enough to survive on our own so we can protect ourselves and our ghost”.

The captain nodded “misraaks understands, fallen same way in some things”.

Elsie leaned forward to clear the screen and retrieved her tablet, putting it in her belt before busying herself with the controls once more “you know, guardians fight each other, but my favourite guardian to fight is actually Anne” she smiled “obviously we haven’t fought for a while, it’s too dangerous for her”.

“Why would fight friend?” Mithrax asked.

“Titans can be a bit... slow... hard to take down but slow” she admitted “we hit hard but that’s easy, hunters are hard to hit so I started fighting Anne to get better and we were equal for a while there, I’d probably destroy her right now but we made each other better fighters”.

Mithrax looked at the hunter who slept peacefully “Anne weak now”.

“She is, but she won’t always be, I’ll make sure she becomes strong again” elsie smiled.

“Would like to see guardians fight” Mithrax admitted.

Elsie looked thoughtful “me and Anne will give you a show one day, light and all”.

Mithrax chuckled “would like”. He looked thoughtfully to the screen and watched the earth pass beneath them thoughtfully.

A signal broke through the peace “May Day, May Day, calling for assistance, pinned down under heavy fire, fallen assault on my co-ordinates, guardian down”.

Elsie instantly looked concerned before looking at Anne “shit...” she looked back to the screen looking torn “is there anyone else in the vicinity?”

“No, your the only one” sparks replied with worry.

Elsie took a deep breath “so be it, drop me down and I’ll deal with it” she looked back to Anne “dust, can you take over for me?”.

The ghost appeared and flew over “yeah, I’ll bring the ship back around when your done.

The captain looked unsure “something wrong?”.

Elsie nodded “a guardians in trouble, I have to go and help, you should stay with Anne in the sky”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “misraaks help?”.

“To do that, I’d have to land and leave Anne unprotected” elsie explained with worry.

Dust looked to Mithrax “he could go, I’ll look after her, I looked after Anne before you found her, I can do that again for a little bit” she assured.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “what if the guardian attacks Mithrax, I can’t let that happen” she looked guilty to Mithrax “please, just stay, I got this, I don’t want to see you hurt by my people”.

Mithrax finally nodded “protect Anne for captain, but must kill eliksni?”.

“I don’t want too” elsie sighed “but I don’t know of another way, the eliksni fear guardians”.

The captain looked thoughtful “wear captains armour, show rank, give mark of house, may sway eliksni, may not” he offered.

Elsie looked thoughtful “dust take over, I need sparks, sparks, come here” she got up and moved to her storage and pulled out her fallen helmet as sparks appeared beside her “make this wearable”.

Sparks took a moment and the helmet lifted in her hands before glowing, it changed in some places, the opening for the captains eyes were replaced by plates and glowing eyes. “Is that too heavy?”

Elsie slipped it on having to duck and after a moment shook her head “it’s fine, nice work”, she took the helmet off for the moment “see if you can program some voice lines into it for me”.

Mithrax shifted to pull on the cloak around his neck and pulled it up around his helmet with some difficulty but he didn’t seem to want to take his helmet off, he then moved over to elsie “house dusk colours, may protect captain “wear with pride” he helped slide the heavy cloak over the Titans shoulders and adjusted it.

Elsie looked a little unsure and felt the cloak thoughtfully “your sure about this?”. Mithrax nodded and he looked almost small without his cloak but his strength was obvious even without.

“We are here” dust informed from the console.

Elsie took a deep breath, the cloak had a familiar musty smell but it almost empowered her, as she put on her helmet and took out the large captains rifle, she felt weirdly powerful “ok, drop me down, see you guys soon”.

Everything went black briefly and elsie found herself on the ground, sparks wasted no time in leading the titan to the downed guardians and they reached a crashed guardian ship. Elsie saw them immediately, the two guardians were hiding behind their ship, one sitting down and clutching his chest while the other was watching for trouble, a radio in his hand. There was a skiff in the distance with fallen approaching slowly.

Once the guardians saw elsie, they seemed scared of her, which was fair and they shot at her with fear, elsie however was ready for it and put up a shield “open comms” she ordered before speaking and raising her weapon “hold your fire, I’m a titan, code name captain, I heard your distress call” she explained “I’m here to help” she promised.

The guardians looked confused but dropped their weapons and elsie continued moving forward to duck under cover with them and took off her helmet quickly “do not fire, just trust me, I got this, I’ll call for support to get you home” she promised before putting her helmet back on.

The guardians seemed relieved to see the awoken woman and nodded so elsie shifted to jump onto of the ship “ok sparks, time to be a captain I suppose”.

“Try and look scary, oh, and hunch over maybe, we gotta look convincing” sparks added.

Elsie laughed and did her best impression, crouching in wait. She looked the part mostly and as the fallen approached, they looked wary but didn’t immediately shoot, elsie got up to jump down and approach as her helmet let out a growl before speaking in eliksni.

The dregs seemed to back up but the vandals didn’t seem entirely convinced and eyed her up and down suspiously before going to move past and elsie moved to block them with a threatening growl from the helmet making the vandal shrink a bit and back up.

Another captain broke through looking angry and spoke in a deep gutural commanding way as he approached and pulled out his swords with a growl, elsie moved to match, putting her weapon to the side to pull out her swords with a growl and sparks attempted to talk their way out of this. The captain thought about it before shaking his head and thrusting himself into a fight, darting forward to try and cut down the titan.

Elsie was waiting and sidestepped before attempting an attack and the captain was equally as nimble. While the titan wasn’t proffecent with two swords, she did her best and managed to get in a few cuts combined with some heavy punches and kicks before she was knocked back and finally the captain managed to pierce the titan painfully before stepping on her and finishing her off, he let out a loud cry of pride and backed off. Elsie however gasped back to life and since she was covered with the cloak, they didn’t realise she was alive until she stood and rushed into another attack and this time the captain backed up looking uneasy as he escaped elsie and after a glance at the downed ship, reluctantly nodded and ordered his crew to leave, eyeing elsie off poisonously.

Once the fallen were gone, elsie straightened up with a groan and set the swords in the ground “huh, that works better than anticipated...” she groaned as she loosened up “captains hit hard”.

“That was awesome” sparks laughed.

Elsie picked up her swords with a deep breath “It was kinda fun” she admitted before heading back to the guardians and she set the swords in the ground again before taking off her helmet and a radio appeared in her hands “calling dust, send an order for guardian pickup, targets secured and safe, send to my co-ordinates” she then crouched down to the guardians “help is on its way, what happened?”.

The guardians looked at her with wide eyes “what did you do? What was that?”.

Elsie laughed “nothing much, testing a theory for the warlocks” she explained casually, it was a lie but they couldn’t tell “I think I won the crash, but I don’t know, they are gone now anyway”.

“Captain right?” The wounded guardian asked.

Elsie nodded “yeah, a pleasure, how you doing? Where’s your ghost”.

“My ghost got hurt in the crash, he isn’t dead but I’m screwed until he his fixed” he flinched as he sat up painfully, he bled from his stomach “I got impaled in the crash, managed to dodge most of it, thank you for saving us, we thought we were screwed”.

Elsie nodded “guardians gotta look out for each other, don’t worry about it, you guys rest easy alright, I’ll keep watch” she promised before standing and putting her helmet back on and after retrieving her swords, she crouched once more on the wreck to keep watch. It was about half an hour before a hawk was spotted in the distance and lowered to drop down three more Titans, they immediately looked wary as elsie stood but she quickly took off her helmet “I’m a guardian! Don’t shoot, it’s just the armour” she promised.

After some confusion and explanation, the guardians retrieved their stranded men and took off after elsie explained that her ship was nearby and they didn’t have to worry about her. She took a deep breath before putting her helmet back on “dust, ready for pickup”.

It was barely a minute before elsies ship came in for landing and elsie walked over proudly to let herself back in, she was surprised to see Anne awake and she instantly pulled the titan into a hug “you are so cool!” She enthused “I actually thought you were a captain”.

Elsie laughed “since when were you awake?”.

“Since dust woke me up to watch” she smiled.

“Misraaks impressed, fought like true captain” he chuckled “fought and won right to wreck”

“I’m not sure if they realised what I was, but I did die... I guess they just weren’t expecting me to get up again” she chuckled.

“Probably thought was docked and shunned captain, missing lower arms, thought would be easy kill, but kill stood up after killing blow, scared of power” he nodded “Captain strong”.

Elsie looked thoughtful before pulling off her helmet “well whatever they thought it worked.... Skye would lose her mind if she saw this” she smiled “although it could be awkward when they realise there aren’t any warlocks testing out fallen armour” she gave a cheeky smile “oh well”.

Anne looked confused “what did you do?”.

“Well I couldn’t very well tell them I was given this stuff by a fallen, they wouldn’t believe me if I did” she smiled “so instead I said I was testing some new experimental fallen armour for a warlock, warlocks do all sorts of crazy things” she grinned.

Anne shook her head “you say I’m sketchy, well, since it’s clear, can I go for a walk?”

“As soon as I give this back, we can go” elsie promised as she went to take the cloak off.

“Captain keep, mark of respect, I get another” he assured before climbing out of the ship curiously.

Elsie looked uncertain before looking to Anne “I guess I’ll keep it?”.

“I guess so... you look cool” she smiled.

Elsie chuckled and helped lift the hunter out of the ship before following. they spent a little bit of time exploring the area and scavenging the wreck for supplies to take back to the fallen settlement. Anne deeply appreciated the freedom and they hung around until the hunter was satisfied and went on their way, returning to the fallen settlement. While they weren’t able to do what they were originally going to do, search for somewhere safe and private for Anne, they did have fun and that was enough.

The titan spent a few days with Anne before ducking off for possibly the last time before the baby would be born.


	9. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the time has come but there's complications, as there always is.

As the date got closer, the Titans anxiety rose to full force, she wished she could spend all of her time with the hunter but unfortunately her duties did not allow for it and while she waited for the call, she was forced to try and focus on work.

“Elsie... did you even hear me?” Skye asked loudly with annoyance. 

Elsie snapped today attention “uh... no... sorry...” she muttered “I’m a bit distracted, I’m listening” she insisted.

Skye sighed and crossed her arms “just forgot it... I’ll do it myself” she replied with sharp annoyance and walked off to let herself into elsies ship.

Elsie looked guilty but didn’t bother saying anything. Skye had been annoyed with elsie for the past few months subtly but today it seemed like elsie was particularly annoying. Sparks guessed that she had realised elsie knew where the hunter was and was annoyed that the titan didn’t say anything about it and today she was just sick of how distracted the titan was.

Skye finished her work in a grumpy silence, she was currently repairing a sensor unit with hope and elsie was supposed to be helping out but she kept spacing out, she finally stood and put her bag over her shoulder “come on, let’s go; I have things to do” she muttered. 

Elsie followed with guilt as they moved on to visit the next location. Skye had asked for help since she was being sent out to fix some broken equipment and elsie was more than happy to help, she just couldn’t help worrying.

It was bound to happen with the titan as distracted as she was and she was brought to attention by a loud cry and explosion. She didn’t waste any time to rush over to skye who was in an old building. A solar grenade burned at her side but she found herself trapped in the arms of two captains that were holding her tightly. Skye unlike the titan was not as physically imposing and despite her struggle, couldn’t break their grip.

The titan didn’t get a chance to react as she felt a sword run through her followed by arms pulling her into a tight grip and a dagger was held to her throat “what do you want?” The titan spat poisonously.

The captains didn’t respond before dragging the titan out into the open, the ones with Skye followed suit. It was unclear where they were taking them until they came in sight of the Titans distinctive ship and a fallen skiff hovered above it. One of the captains then pointed to the ship “need captain” a growling voice said simply.

This threw the titan “what? That’s my ship...” she muttered before coughing up blood “what do you want”.

“You captain?” The fallen repeated carefully.

Elsie nodded “I can prove it” she sighed “let me go, I won’t attack”. The fallen seemed a bit unsettled but reluctantly let her go and the titan staggered for a moment before straightening up painfully, her armour glowed before being replaced but her fallen armour, a cloak with the colours of house dusk rested heavily on her shoulders and her helmet was replaced by that of a fallen captains, she turned to face the fallen and held a hand to her bleeding stomach “I am captain, what do you want...” she muttered.

Skye watched with confusion as the fallen surrounding them seemed shocked and the fallen dropped to their knees in a bow looking almost afraid, a captain then got up and pulled a folded piece of paper out of its armour to give it to the titan.

Elsie looked at them all before unfolding the paper and reading the note, she went from irritated to shocked “now? shit...” she looked at the captains still holding Skye before walking over “let her go, we gotta go now”. Skye was released on command and before she could even argue elsie grabbed her hand and pulled her with before she could do anything. “Get in the ship, we are leaving now” she ordered, letting the warlock go.

Skye looked confused and begun to argue “What, but we aren’t-“ 

“GET IN THE SHIP” elsie ordered again, scaring Skye with the sudden change of attitude and she moved back over to the captain who gave her the note “thank you, you can go now” she said simply before heading back to the ship once more. Skye didn’t need anything but a glare to do as she was told and once they were both in, elsie didn’t waste any time to take off, not bothering to take off her armour.

Skye pulled her helmet off looking upset “what’s going on?” she whispered weakly.

“Anne is moving into labor and I need to be there” elsie replied with irritation “just... questions later” she muttered.

Skye looked worried “you did know, this whole time you knew... I mean of course you did... but...” her worry quickly turned to angry “what do you mean questions later?! How can you expect... after this?”.

Elsie left the ship in sparks hands to face Skye and she took her helmet off “now isn’t the time, all you need to know is Anne could be in trouble, I promise I’ll explain all of this but I just need time” she looked defeated and teared up “please...”.

It was clearly difficult for Skye to let this go but after a moment she started to cry “you will explain all this.... won’t you?”.

Elsie nodded and got up to pull her into a hug “I promise, you can get mad and kill me if you want but after I make sure Anne is ok”.

After a moment, the warlock seemed to be as satisfied as she was going to be and she settled quietly in the back of the ship, it was deathly silent as elsie focused on flying, it was a good half hour before anyone spoke again. “Skye, I need to warn you, this place we are going too, I need you to not freak out, there is a lot of fallen there but I promise they are friendly and they will not harm you as long as you do no attack them, I need you to keep a level head ok? I will explain, I promise, but just not yet”.

Skye looked confused but sighed, accepting that this was all she was going to get and it was another few minutes before elsie slowed for a landing, they landed in a huge hangar like building with a hole in the roof, to Skye it was new but it was familiar to elsie and she wasted no time and pulling a large duffle bag out of storage before putting her helmet on “grab my hand and follow me, you will be unharmed, I promise”. 

With a weak nod from Skye, they climbed out of the ship quickly and fallen already appeared to check out who had landed, on seeing elsie they gave a respectful nod and elsie took skyes hand before pulling her along with her. Skye earned some suspious looks but as promised, they gave the titan and her company a wide berth and the titan seemed to know exactly where she was going.

As they walked along a balcony, they approached a captain on guard, standing protectively beside a doorway that was blocked with a forcefield. The captain gave elsie a nod before staring at the warlock with distrust but he let the wall down so they could enter. 

The room was small but not too small and Anne stood against the wall looking pained, her hands on her stomach, beside her crouched another fallen captain that was bigger than the others but not nearly the size of a kell. 

Elsie finally let skye go before dropping her bag and she approached Anne “hey, how you doing?” She asked carefully, taking off her helmet. 

Anne looked relieved to see her despite looking pained and she teared up and grabbed the Titans hand, she was shaking “I’m scared” she whispered.

Elsie pulled her into a gentle hug “hey, hey it’s going to be ok, I’m here and we can do this together, I promise” she gave the hunter a loving kiss on the head “you are strong enough, I know it”.

Anne let out a pained whimper looking weak and elsie looked to Skye who looked torn between a mix of emotions “come on, while we have time” she motioned to come over.

Skye looked uncertainly to the captain who was watching her carefully before walking over to join the hug and broke into tears “I’m so glad to see you...”.

Anne looked slightly surprised to see her and despite looking tired, she hugged the warlock back “I’m sorry... did elsie tell you?” She asked weakly.

Skye laughed weakly “are you kidding, I was almost kidnapped by fallen, elsie put on weird armour and then yelled at me to hop in the ship, I don’t know anything, all I know is that I’m here to help” she gave a small smile.

Anne chuckled “I’m sorry, that was probably my fault-“ she groaned painfully breaking her sentence and gasped, breathing heavily. 

“Ok ok, talk later” elsie nodded “Skye, I need you to focus, my bag, it has everything you need, I need a clean towel on that bed, water and cloths, go, I’ll help Anne”. Skye took a second to process it all but nodded and got too it leaving Anne in elsies hands.

Elsie spoke to dust to figure out where Anne was up too and it appeared as though she was almost ready to go. Once skye had set the bed up, dust took off Anne’s jumpsuit, leaving her with just her dress and elsie helped her onto the bed painfully before providing her with pillows to prop her up. Elsie took a second to let sparks take her armour off before putting a towel over Anne’s lap and she gently leaned down to check the hunter carefully. 

She had done all the research possible to figure out how to best help Anne and while she felt scared and anxious, she just tried to her best to keep her cool and focus on what she had to do, the captain in the room seemed to watch quietly before finally moving over “how can help?” He asked. 

Elsie looked to the captain “I need privacy, please make sure everyone stays away, no matter what you hear”.

Mithrax nodded “friend will be left alone” he assured “Misraaks leave? Was protecting for captain”.

Elsie looked unsure, it could be helpful to have him nearby in case they needed something quickly, she looked to Anne “up to you”.

Anne was focusing on deep breaths between waves of pain and she looked to elsie “there’s already one captain here, a second doesn’t matter at this point” she joked weakly.

Elsie chuckled and looked to Mithrax “you can stay, I might need your help”, she then looked to Skye “your job is to support her, I can’t do that, I need you too, ok?”. Skye nodded and shifted to sit on the floor beside the hunter, taking her hand supportively. 

It was another ten minutes or so before Anne felt the need to push indicating that she was ready to go and after guidance from dust, they begun. Elsie gently led the hunter through what she needed to do with help from Skye who offered loving support and encouragement. 

Anne let out pained cries as she put her all into pushing and despite feeling a bit weak watching, it took about twenty minutes before elsie could see the head emerge. The hunter was beginning to feel tired but with some encouragement from her friends, she managed one last push and elsie caught the baby in her hands gently. 

“That’s it Anne, good girl, you can rest for a bit now” elsie soothed as she gently started to look after the child. Unfortunately the child was born silent and elsie gently tried to clear the child’s airways with sparks guidance and after a brief pause, a shrill cry broke through the tense air and relief was thick in the room. The rest felt simple, elsie tied and cut the cord before wrapping the child up in a clean towel to keep her warm. Sparks took note of the baby’s weight, length and time of birth. 

Anne was exhausted and simply laid there trying catch her breath weakly. while she looked happy to hear the child cry for a moment, she was too tired to react properly and it appeared as that’s what she was waiting for as she fell unconscious almost immediately after. Dust scanned her with concern and started working without a word and it was a moment before the hunters shallow breaths stabilised. 

After a final check of mother and daughter, elsie weakly settled against the wall looking sick, the child safe in her arms. Since Skye was mostly fine if a bit pale, she made sure Anne was alright before dropping down beside the titan and she pulled her into a relieved hug.

“What’s left?” Skye asked gently.

“I need to bathe her” elsie murmured looking tired.

Skye gave her a gently smile “I can do that, go get some fresh air ok, you don’t look well”.

Elsie looked unsure but as Skye gently took the child, she nodded weakly and got up and left the room. She left the factory in silence and headed down to the river to wash her hands and face before just laying down on the grassy shore feeling dizzy. 

“You did well” sparks spoke as she appeared above the titan “I’m proud of you”.

Elsie chuckled weakly “thanks... never again” she muttered “that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done...”

Sparks settled on the grass beside her “yeah, I can’t argue... Anne owes you big time...”.

Elsie smiled “no she doesn’t... she’s been through enough” she sighed looking tired “do you think it would be ok if I just... I don’t think I can walk back without passing out...”

Spark shifted to nudge the Titans cheek supportively “I’m sure it will be fine, Skye has the baby so she should be right... she shouldn’t pick a fight while she is occupied, get some rest, I’ll look after you”

Elsie brought a hand up to hold the ghost appreciatively “you’re the best” she pressed a kiss on her shell lovingly before letting her go and closing her eyes tiredly, she let sleep claim her. Elsie didn’t usually have the stomach for this kind of work and it was easy to make her ill at times, she had a complicated relationship with seeing certain kinda of wounds and while she could handle pain, too much made her feel sick. This was so far beyond her comfort zone that she almost passed out several times and was only holding it together because she had too, now the pressure was gone she collapsed. 

Elsie was startled awake by someone grabbing her and elsie sat up with a sick groan and she buried her face in her hands “I’m up” she murmured.

“Is captain good?” Mithrax asked carefully.

Elsie looked up to the captain, she had no idea how long she had been out for but mithrax certainly looked concerned “yeah... just tired...”.

“New guardian want know where captain is” he explained “I look, find captain down”.

Elsie nodded “sorry... I was coming back, I just...” she sighed before going to stand and it appeared that this was the wrong thing to do as she immediately felt dizzy and gagged before throwing up, there was mix of blood there from her encounter before they got here.

“Captain doesn’t look good... get new guardian?” Mithrax asked.

Elsie shook her head weakly “no, I’ll be fine... maybe... I just don’t take well to... any of this..” she muttered before crrawling to the water to splash some cool water over her face and she took a moment flush out her mouth before having a drink. It was another minute before elsie sighed and finally pushed herself to her feet and while she was starting to look better, it was clear that she needed rest.

Mithrax watched her thoughtfully “captain return to friend?”, Elsie nodded in reply and allowed the captain to lead the way.

Curious eyes followed them through the factory but they were left alone like usual and as they reached the area that Anne stayed, it became quiet, almost completely clear of fallen, the ones that were there looked curiously towards the captain guarding the room upstairs.

When they finally reached the room, Anne had woken up, wether it was natural or with someone’s help was unclear but she still looked quite ragged, she however held her child and was feeding it. Skye sat beside the bed looking quietly worried and on hearing the titan return, immediately got up to greet elsie with concern.

“Are you ok elsie? You were gone for so long” skye murmured quietly as she brought a hand to the Titans cheek “you still don’t look well...”.

Elsie nodded “I’ll be alright... I just need some sleep” she promised “hows Anne?”.

“I had to wake her to feed the baby but sparks has been helping for everything else, she’s fine” skye promised “Anne was worried about you” she gave a gentle smile. 

Skye had tidied the room up and left very little to do except to check on Anne, elsie chuckled “I’m not even the one that had a baby” she replied playfully as she shifted to sit down beside Anne “hey you” she greeted.

Anne shifted her gaze from the baby to the titan “you look like shit” she observed gently “you sure you’re ok?”.

Elsie nodded “yeah... you just freaked me out a bit” she admitted “it was a bit hard to watch”.

Anne gave her a small smile and offered her free hand “well I’m glad you were here, I couldn’t have done it without you” she assured.

Elsie took it and gave her hand a gentle squeeze “it’s a titans duty to help... a friends duty to make sure you and your little one makes it”, The titan moved her gaze to the child. now that it was clean, it was less horrific to look at which made the titan feel a bit better but it was small in the blankets it was wrapped in, it looked completely defenceless and weak however it clutched it’s hands tightly as it fed “don’t take this the wrong way but can you uh.... not do this again?” Elsie asked weakly “I don’t think I can do this again” she admitted.

Anne chuckled “believe me, never again” she assured “I’d rather die repeatedly and painfully and it would still be more comfortable”.

Elsie laughed and gave the hunter a careful hug “I’m proud of you”.

Anne gratefully accepted the hug, leaning into her comfortably “I’m going to miss you” she murmured.

Elsie smiled “hey, I’ll be around... you know me better than anyone else and hunters have their ways of getting what they want” she looked playful “I’m sure you can figure something out” elsie assured, pulling away gently.

Anne looked thoughtful before blushing and she caught the Titans shirt and pulled her into a deep kiss. elsie didn’t hesitate to reply, the fact that Skye was in the room didn’t make a difference. When they broke apart breathlessly, Anne smiled “I just wanted one for the road” she admitted quietly “thank you for everything, you are my hero”. She blushed deeply before turning her attention to her child who was finished feeding and she carefully started burping it.

Elsie chuckled and sat comfortably beside the bed once more “anytime” she smiled.

Skye looked shocked and slightly hurt at the scene but she quickly ignored it with a slight blush and bit her lip as she let the two have their moment. It looked like the two were close, very close and the warlock wasn’t aware that was how they felt. Her thoughts raced as she tried to control her emotions and she was snapped back to focus as elsie called out to her.

“You ok skye?” Elsie asked carefully.

Skye nodded quickly “uh, yeah, I was just uh... you know I still don’t know how any of this happened and I would still love to know if your finally interested in telling me without yelling at me” she muttered. 

Elsie looked guilty and Anne looked confused “what? Are you guys ok?”.

“When I got the eliksni’s message, I did snap at skye because i didn’t have the time or patience to answer questions...” elsie looked at skye apologetically and waved her over “come here and I’ll answer anything you want now, I promise”.

Skye bit her lip and looked torn at the titan before settling down beside her “can I start with why we are surrounded with fallen?” She asked carefully “and in turn, what the deal was with being captured and let go by fallen”.

Elsie sighed and closed her eyes thoughtfully as if she wasn’t sure where to start “that’s a complicated story, I uh, I think I need to start with Anne for that one” she looked to Anne “do you have an issue with that?”.

Anne shook her head “no, she deserves to know, but I might get some rest once my little one is asleep” she admitted “you can tell it”.

Elsie nodded “well a few months ago... I guess it was about Two months since Anne left, I was flying back to the tower and sparks picked up some fallen chatter, I didn’t really care at the time so sparks checked it out before we headed home” she sighed “well I was doing my thing and suddenly sparks cones to life insisting she found Anne and she played this translated feed and there was these fallen talking about what sounds like a prisoner with a child, a hunter who had surrendered” she gave Anne a tired look “naturally, I left the tower as soon as I was armoured up to come look for her and at first, I couldn’t find her or these fallen that we’re talking about her”.

Skye listened quietly “how did Anne find herself in fallen hands?”.

At this, the captain shifted to move over startling the warlock “friend said, Anne give in, too weak to fight, misraaks pity hunter, capture, protect hunter and pup” he crouched “gave up weapons and tricks”.

“From what I understand, Anne was camping nearby and she attempted to hide from the eliksni and they found her and while she did kill a few of them, Mithrax here was too much and she had no choice but to give in and let him kill her, instead he offered to look after her, so he brought her here”.

“Anne fought well in condition, easy to knock over, would have been killed if left” Mithrax assured “friend weak”.

Skye bit her lip “so how did you find her?”.

“Well I searched for her and sparks looked for anything but they were cloaked, I couldn’t see anything, not even a signal, sparks thought she was going crazy” elsie chuckled “we only found anything once the sun was up and we were baited, I’m guessing Mithrax did it on purpose to throw me off but there was a signal leading to a pike, I was furious” she chuckled.

“Anne spoke of forsaking city, noticed guardian ship in night, wanted to protect Anne, distracted friend to take off” Mithrax chuckled “did not work for long”.

Skye sighed “so how did you find them?”.

“Sparks was able to pick up tracks once they stopped cloaking their camp site when they were gone and that’s where we started following, I just hoped I could keep up” she admitted “I eventually found this place and it looked abandoned but there was nothing else around, absolutely nothing so this had to be the place. I parked down the road and I was determined to find out if Anne was here”.

Elsie sighed “of course they knew I was coming, I barely had a chance before I found myself over powered by the sheer number of eliksni...” she shook her head “I woke up and I was tied up and surrounded by vandals pointing guns to my head, they dragged me to Mithrax and he told me Anne was here and I demanded to see her, I gave up my weapons and everything because I just had to know that she was ok”. 

Elsie looked defeated “well, it wasn’t my brightest moment, but as promised, he showed me where Anne was and I just lost it when he said Anne wouldn’t be able to leave. I broke free of my ropes to try and fight my way out but I was dead before I could do anything” she chuckled “I deserved it, I did promise not to fight but I wasn’t expecting to be killed so quickly, I woke up and Anne was holding me and I just collapsed... I was furious with her but also just so happy to see her, I just cried... she protected me from getting hurt further and just like that, I stayed with her” she blushed a little at the memory.

“Elsie redeemed self, offered help in eliksni affair, offered life for eliksni, earned her respect back with act of selfless strength, eliksni respect strength, earned title of captain” Mithrax explained “made Anne happy”.

Skye bit her lip and teared up “you lied to me then... you said you found nothing but hive... but I could tell, something happened, you were alive again, not this husk, why didn’t you say something? What happened to you, you looked like you’d been through hell”.

Elsie looked guilty “I didn’t lie completely” she admitted” she sighed “Mithrax was responding to an eliksni distress signal and I offered to help. A crew had found themselves trapped in a hive nest and I went with. I used my light as bait so I could get all of the eliksni out but on my way out, I was separated and caught by the hive. I couldn’t escape and a wizard started to rip my light away, the elinski saved me and brought me back here”.

Mithrax nodded “captain wounded but still walked, great feat of strength, looked bad, acted strong”.

Skye looked shocked at the story “why didn’t you say something, you were disciplined and everything, you didn’t deserve that, had you explained... or said anything...”.

“Anne wanted to stay and she didn’t want anyone to know where she was so I couldn’t say anything, the vanguard would force their hand, I’m sorry, I am, but I had my reasons” elsie sighed.

“You were disciplined?” Anne asked quietly “you didn’t...” she bit her lip “i didn’t know... you didn’t say anything...”.

Mithrax chuckled “captain secretive, would make good eliksni leader, why don’t stay with house light” he asked playfully, or as playfully as a fallen captain could.

Elsie chuckled “I can’t do that” she assured before looking to Anne “I didn’t tell you because you had other things to worry about” she smiled and looked to both her friends “you can both beat me up about it later” she promised.

Skye gave the titan a defeated look “I’ll deal with you later...” she muttered “I knew you’d found her... but you didn’t say anything, I thought that maybe you would but you never did and everytime I asked, you lied, I knew you were lying but I figured that maybe it was Anne’s doing...” she bit her lip “so now I’m caught up as to how you both got here, why are you so... welcome here... and where did you get that strange armour?” She crossed her arms “and why were we attacked by fallen then let go”.

“Misraaks ordered eliksni to find captain, found captains ship. Did not recognise armour or friend, thought was another guardian, eliksni fault” he explained “captain earned title of eliksni captain, earned armour and weapons of captain, misraaks gave cloak from shoulders, fought another captain in ways of eliksni, won with strength, earned right to wear colours of eliksni”.

Elsie nodded “I uh, I took Anne for a joy flight one day and had to respond to a distress signal, two downed guardians were being attacked by eliksni and Mithrax was with us so I didn’t feel comfortable killing them, instead, we came up with this plan to see if they would believe I was a captain” she smiled “I know, it’s about to get weird”.

in her hands, a fallen captains helmet appeared “this was a gift for helping with the hive, so I had sparks fix it so I could wear it, Mithrax gave me his cloak to help look the part and down I went” she chuckled “it was kinda fun, I did my best impression of a captain and it worked, I managed to convince the smaller adds to back off” she chuckled “it was the captain who was unconvinced and he pulled out his swords to fight” she nodded “I had no idea what I was doing but I pulled out mine and we started fighting, I actually lost, but since i had sparks, I got up again and I guess because of that, the captain admitted defeat and I didn’t even have to kill a single one of them, it was amazing”.

Skye listened with surprise and interest flickered through her features “facinating... is that why the fallen acted like they did with us?”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “eliksni spoke of wounding captain, usually action is punished by docking or death, feared captains wrath, Captain is considered high rank eliksni leader, eliksni call captain guardian of eliksni, dark Walker”.

Elsie chuckled “don’t worry, I get it, I’m not about to be bringing my wrath down on anyone, Titans are tough to take down sometimes, unless it’s you” she smiled.

“Question then, would captain fight for title if demanded?” He asked curiously.

Elsie looked unsure “uh, I mean... I could but isn’t that dangerous, I don’t want to kill your eliksni”.

Mithrax waved his hand “if eliksni foolish enough to challenge, deserve to be be defeated” he assured “refusing to fight would be seen as weakness” he explained.

Elsie sighed, while she didn’t enjoy the thought of fighting for a title she didn’t ask for, she almost felt like she had a duty to defend herself “well hopefully that never comes up” she nodded.

Skye looked to the captain thoughtfully “is elsie considered part of your house?”.

Mithrax nodded “yes, great warrior for house light”.

The warlock looked to elsie “I guess I know where you’ve been going now...” she sighed “you could have told me... I can keep a secret you know... I mean there were rumours around the tower that just sounded ridiculous but to find out it was true...” she sighed “you’re the worst” she muttered before looking to Anne, she had dozed off where she lay with her child sleeping on her chest “can I speak with you outside?”.

Elsie looked unsure and Mithrax motioned to the door “misraaks stay with friend, call if need” he promised.

At this elsie agreed reluctantly and led Skye out of the factory to somewhere quiet, when they were far enough away, Skye stopped and elsie faced her, after a moment skye broke into tears “did you not trust me?”.

“Of course I trust you, that’s why I brought you here” elsie explained “I just... the tower has so many ears, I didn’t feel safe to say anything and I wanted to respect Anne’s wishes”.

“Why didn’t you convince her to come back?” Skye asked with accusation.

“I tried, believe me, I did, but I couldn’t and if she didn’t say yes, Mithrax wasn’t going to let her go, I didn’t have a hope in hell of getting her out of here, not with all the eliksni there, I had no choice and I hated it” she teared up “and I knew if I mentioned it, the vanguard would come take her by force, I couldn’t allow that. If anyone over heard me talk to you, I risked everything”. Elsie got to her knee “please, forgive me, I just wanted to protect Anne”.

“All this fallen stuff, were you ever going to tell me?” She asked weakly.

“I don’t know...” she muttered “I didn’t know how to explain it”.

Skye shook her head “and were you going to tell me you almost got your light ripped away? That you almost died to save some fallen?”.

“I didn’t want to worry you more than you already were... I survived because of the fallen” elsie sighed “I’m sorry... and I don’t care if you never speak to me again, but don’t punish Anne, I chose my own actions, punish me” she lowered her head tearfully.

Skye was silent for a long moment “I can’t even stay mad at you” she finally murmured weakly and got to her knees to pull the titan into a hug “you were just doing what you felt like you needed too...” she sighed with defeat.

Elsie Hugged her tightly “I don’t want to lose your friendship...” she replied quietly.

Skye nodded “I don’t want that either...”. The two hugged for a long moment before Skye pulled away “so how long have you guys been together?” She asked carefully. 

Elsie looked confused “what do you mean... we aren’t...” she trailed off before blushing “oh.. uh.. that’s not what it looks... I can explain” she replied quickly. 

Skye looked confused “what? You uh... what else can a kiss look like...” she asked weakly.

Elsie blushed deeper “look, when I found Anne, she was doing ok but...” she cleared her throat “she was lonely and I’d been reading that it was important for a mother to feel like they were loved and looked after... and Anne, she was... she needed someone too...” she found it hard to continue “I just.... she wanted to be looked after so I did...” she muttered “I swear, it’s just... it’s nothing... I just wanted her to be healthy...”.

Skye looked unsure “so you don’t?” She asked almost hopefully.

“I mean I do, but as a friend... there’s no way she and I would work... uh, I just...” she looked embarrassed “I love that sort of attention... so I have no problem helping Anne out with that sort of thing...” she muttered weakly. 

The warlock looked confused and nodded “I mean not that it matters, I was just wondering” she replied quietly with a blush “I was just... curious...”. She cleared her throat “well I’m just glad Anne had someone looking after her” she admitted quickly “because I saw the fallen and I was scared that... you know... but whatever, you have to show me your armour sometime, it looks cool” she finished, changing the topic quickly.

Elsie chuckled looking red “any time” she promised “now if you want, we have time, we have all the time” she smiled “unfortunately I’m staying here for a few days and you came here in my ship, so you gotta wait or just take my ship home by yourself and I’ll figure out my own way home”.

Skye laughed “it’s ok, I think I can wait, I finally get to see Anne so I may as well take advantage of it...”. She eyed elsie thoughtfully before sighing “plus, you look like you could use a hand for a day or so at least”.

“I think I’m just a bit overwhelmed mostly” elsie admitted tiredly “I haven’t had to push myself this hard for a while... killing things is easy... today was not” she sighed.

Skye smiled gently “well you could take a nap maybe, Sparks is here so I can just ask her what to do... I’m impressed with how much research she did” she admitted “come on, let’s go back”.

Elsie looked unsure but nodded and led Skye back, after a bit more pushing, Skye finally convinced the titan to relax and she set up her swag before collapsing herself leaving Skye with the kell of the fallen house that they took refuge in.


	10. a warlock and a kell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last new guardian was elsie, skye hopefully makes a better first impression.

It was a few minutes before the captain crawled over and put a hand on his chest “misraaks, you are?” He asked motioned to Skye.

Skye looked uncomfortable but repeated the gesture, holding a hand to her chest “Skye, a... pleasure, you are the leader? The kell?”.

The captain nodded thoughtfully “name like Sky?” he pointed up “misraaks kell, house light, friend to guardian, guardian friend to eliksni, want help protect great machine, help guardians, want truce”.

Skye gave a small smile “yes, my name is like the sky” she then looked curious “house light? I haven’t heard of that house” she admitted.

“Young house, my house” Mithrax explained “guardians fear eliksni, do not understand want for peace, do not want kill guardian, but must protect house, eliksni do not have gift from great machine”.

“So when you found Anne... were you going to kill her?” Skye asked carefully.

“Saw guardian ship, looked like water creature but made of metal, wanted to look at, smelled guardian and Hunter attacked out of fear” he looked thoughtful “killed dregs, but easy to overwhelm, accepted death and surrendered, misraaks saw chance to make friend of guardian. Eliksni do not trust hunters, quick, tricky like eliksni but this one was slow, weak, something wrong with this one, weakness is bad in eliksni but for guardian, unusual, could learn from hunter, find better ways of dealing with guardian” he chuckled “Anne great resource”.

Skye wasn’t sure if all that was good or bad but she decided it didn’t matter since Anne was still in one piece “so what about elsie?”.

Mithrax sat down looking amused “Captain was fool, broke promise, attacked eliksni, misraaks had to kill, but Anne saved captain, without Anne, Captain might not be here” he chuckled “have forgiven captain for actions, did not kill eliksni, was not quick enough, but earned respect back by standing for eliksni, earned her place with strength”.

“Why would she attack?” She asked carefully.

“Feared Anne’s safety, thought eliksni would trick her, wanted help friend” the captain nodded “allowed captain to live again, Anne knew captain, was sad but captain was sadder, got mad at hunter but cared for hunter too, was strange” Mithrax then chuckled “seemed to fancy each other, understood in morning, smelled of mate”.

Skye looked surprised before blushing “oh” she cleared her throat awkwardly “so uh...” she struggled to think of something to change the topic too “the uh... eliksni... that live here... do they all think like you?”.

“House light accepts eliksni who share belief that guardians can be good company, not only death” he nodded “most slow to trust, but in time, comfortable with Anne, respect captain, you have not proven yourself trustworthy yet, unsure about you, fearsome tales of warlocks speaks of things they can do, twists world in hands, like hive wizards in your speak” Mithrax looked the warlock up and down “name for warlocks, breaker of world”.

Skye looked shocked but she found herself having trouble denying the accusations “are warlocks really that scary?”.

“In eliksni, armour is show of rank, hunters dress like vandals, act like vandals” he chuckled “Titans fight like captains, brutal strength, but also like dreg, run into fight fearlessly, deadly to underestimate, warlocks fight like archons, thought commands action, often uses unseen powers to get way, hard to kill warlock, uses tricks of light, dresses in manner that shows rank, intelligence, can tell how deadly warlock is by armour” he eyed the warlocks armour “armour is long, you are old warlock, much experience, much knowledge”.

Skye looked uncomfortable at just how correct the captain was and bit her lip “if you don’t trust me... why let me stay?”.

“Mithrax respects captain, captain respects Skye, so Mithrax respects Skye, but will fight if threatened regardless of ally’s” he growled “I must leave, look after house, stay with friends, stay safe, I wouldn’t leave if I were you, trust must be gained” he stood with a sigh and left without another word leaving a deep fear in the warlock.

Skye feeling a bit unprotected decided to try and calm her nerves by reading and every few hours, she helped Anne with her baby before returning to quiet study. The first day or so was nice and quiet. Anne simply slept as as she recovered from her ordeal, dust kept a close eye on her just in case but it appeared that she was mostly out of the woods and the baby seemed healthy too, not going far from her mother. 

It was about day three before Anne finally felt ready to try moving and elsie helped her get most of the way by carrying her outside before letting her attempt to walk painfully the rest of the way to the river where they wanted to tidy up. Elsie was proving to be just as dedicated as before the child was born, assisting Anne with anything from undressing and washing to simply providing support like cuddles and laughs when she wasn’t helping look after the baby. Skye however took to taking care of the baby well and often left Anne for elsie most since they were so comfortable with each other. 

Skye kept getting surprised by the privacy that the fallen allowed while also offering protection. as they bathed, there were guards posted to keep watch but they weren’t intrusive as they hung back out of sight of the females. Skye often got caught pondering the strangeness of the situation as she avoided watching her friends interact with shy embarrassment, she was pulled back to reality by her name being called “Skye.... earth to Skye...”.

The warlock looked up with a blush before averting her eyes blushing deeper “uh, yes, sorry...” she replied, choosing to glance to the bundle in her arms wrapped in a clean towel.

Currently elsie sat behind Anne in the water as the hunter rested in the water. The river was soothing and she greatly appreciated being able lean on elsie. “You know you can relax right?” Elsie offered gently. 

“I’m fine” Skye assured “but yes....” she didn’t sound convincing.

Anne looked over lazily “what’s up skye? You’ve been tense since you got here” she observed.

“Well there was a reason for that” Skye sighed.

“Well I’m fine now, so it’s fine, relax, enjoy yourself, take some time off work for once” Anne smiled “what’s bothering you?”.

Skye bit her lip “nothing... it’s fine, I’m just thinking about things... I do that, I’m a warlock remember” she sighed.

Anne didn’t seem convinced, nor did elsie “would you like to go home?” Elsie asked carefully “you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want too, is it the fallen? Or us...”.

Skye cleared her throat with embarrassment “no, not at all, it’s not you guys, I’m just... you know the fallen... there’s so many of them and..” she looked uncomfortable “I don’t think they trust me... and I just... I don’t know...” she stumbled over her words.

Elsie looked thoughtful “well I wouldn’t be surprised... the last new guardian was me and I was an idiot” elsie admitted “but you are safe here, you just have to behave and your good” she promised.

Skye nodded “and I’ve been doing that... I just...” she sighed and shook her head “I don’t know... I’m probably just thinking too much...”.

Anne looked thoughtful “well, maybe you should talk to Mithrax, he isn’t that bad to talk too, for a captain” she smiled “I had the advantage of being off my game and elsie was elsie, I’m sure there’s something you could do to feel more comfortable”.

Skye looked over before looking away with a blush again “I did talk to him... when you guys were out of it a day or two ago... he said that warlocks were world breakers...” she picked at her armour uncomfortably “he could tell how experienced I was by my armour and judged me for it... I didn’t know that fallen knew that much... and it’s like he saw through me completely”.

Elsie looked concerned “why didn’t you say something?”. 

“You guys were sleeping and then there’s been other things to worry about...” she looked depressed “I’m just not used to... Fallen... I guess...”.

Anne looked thoughtful “well, I suppose that’s more than fair, you’ve only met one that was friendly before now, and I’ve thrown you into a whole settlement of them” she took a moment to think about it “maybe it wouldn’t hurt for you to get out of here? I mean, I’m fine now, elsie can go if she wants too”.

Elsie laughed “your not getting rid of me that easily” she looked over to Skye “but you can leave, just take my ship, I’ll grab what I need and your free to go”.

Skye looked unsure before shaking her head “no, I can’t do that, it would be awkward to turn up at the tower late and without elsie...” she sighed “don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine, I’m not the important one here” she admitted.

“While I’m touched, I’ll be fine” Anne mused “tell you what, why don’t you and elsie go for a joy flight, get away for an hour or what not, and I will be fine for an hour or if you really insisting on worrying” she took a deep breath before sitting up looking pained and elsie helped her stand gently.

“I wouldn’t be against a joy flight” elsie agreed, standing to help Anne out of the river.

Anne still looked pretty tired, her body was quite out of shape with new stretch marks that now painted her stomach, a permanent reminder of what she’d been through. Her stomach was slowly recovering but for now she was still quite bloated. It seemed that her time here had mostly got rid of any shame she had as she barely blushed when elsie would help her out with things like dressing. 

Elsie however seemed to have very little shame either but it was unclear if she ever had much to begin with as she wasn’t bothered with undressing completely in front of Skye. The warlock was a bit shocked to start with because the titan was known to dress comfortably but she usually went out of her way to be much more decent than this, not to mention, on the surface she was very straight laced and militaristic in everything she did. It was strange to see her so relaxed and open in that manner. 

Once the two were dried and dressed, they started the walk back to the factory, elsie looked to Skye “so, give me half an hour, and we are going for a flight, no buts”.

Skye looked uncertain “you don’t have too, I swear I’m fine...” 

“No buts” elsie repeated before wrapping an arm around her shoulders “it will be fun, you will have me all to yourself so you can go mad at me all you want” she smiled “come on, you know you want too”.

Skye blushed “I’m not... this just feels... I don’t know, I thought we were supposed to be working...” she sighed.

“Anne’s a big girl, she can handle it” elsie teased “plus, I wouldn’t mind cutting loose for a bit, come shoot stuff with me” she smiled. 

“Your so barbaric” Skye muttered.

“Yes I am, but you love it” elsie chuckled “you know you do”. 

Anne looked amused, doing her best to hide her pain as she walked “well I’m kicking you both out so as long as I don’t see you, I don’t care what you both do”.

“So what will you do?” Elsie asked curiously.

“Me? I might just relax and talk behind your backs while your not around” she teased before smiling “no idea, probably have a nap, exciting I know, but until you have a baby, you don’t get to judge”.

“Your getting lazy” elsie teased.

“What did I litterally just say” Anne argued playfully “I will stab you”.

Elsie just laughed “ok, ok, so you right to walk back or would you like a lift?”.

Anne looked thoughtful “you can carry me up the stairs but I’ll be fine until then”.

“sure” elsie nodded as they entered the factory.

“So do you have any idea of what this place was once?” Skye asked curiously, looking around thoughtfully.

“No idea, but whatever it was, it was huge, there’s nothing left, the eliksni are efficient in their scrapping, it’s admirable” elsie admitted “it doesn’t hurt to have a look around to be honest, it’s a different look at how the eliksni live” she smiled “they perhaps aren’t that different to the people of the city, a little more... brutal perhaps, but they are just trying to survive like us”.

Anne nodded “it’s strange to imagine but eliksni children are kinda cute” she smiled.

“Wait, there’s children here?” Skye asked with surprise.

“Of course there is” elsie chuckled “it’s weird to imagine but they are kept in a seperate part of this place, eliksni children are called pups, I think they like me too... or at least like climbing all over me” she smiled. 

“It’s the cutest thing to watch” Anne admitted “in fact, we could go see Mithrax, maybe you can go for a tour of this place maybe, I’m going to tap out but stay with elsie and you will be fine” as they reached the steps up, elsie effortlessly swept Anne off her feet and carried her up.

“We can have a look on our way out of you like” elsie offered.

The warlock looked torn between curiosity and discomfort “I mean, surely they wouldn’t trust me enough to let me right?”.

“Well that’s why we will ask Mithrax, see what he says” elsie smiled. as they approached Anne’s room, the captain standing watch stood at attention and gave them a nod, elsie took a moment to help Anne lay down.

After a second to adjust, Anne held her hands out to skye “go on, get out of my sight, both of you” she mused “I don’t want to see you for an hour minimum” she smiled. 

Skye handed the baby back gently before looking unsure “are you-“

“Go” Anne ordered simply, as she settled down comfortably beside her baby and waved them both off “I’ll have my guard kick you out in a second” she teased.

Elsie busied herself with her bags before closing and picking one of them up “I will see you when we get back, send me a message if you need us before then” she smiled “have fun”. The titan then grabbed skyes hand and pulled her along “you’re coming with me”.

Skye looked defeated but did as she was told, not having much choice in the matter. 

“So what are we doing?” Skye asked with a sigh.

“We are going to see Mithrax, and then go for a flight” she mused “I need some supplies anyway so I’m going to fly by the farm, I’m in trouble anyway” she chuckled “it’s not gonna kill me to get in more trouble”. Elsie finally let her go as they reached a wide doorway and elsie leaned in to see if anyone was in before walking in, Skye followed a bit nervously. 

The warlock wasn’t sure what to expect but as she walked into the room, she was surprised. It was rather large and empty but the walls were decorated with torn fabric with painted symbols on them. Skye didn’t recognise the symbol but she assumed it stood for house light. There was also three flags that Skye did recognise, a white flag with the broken Titans hexagon on it, a red one with the Titans lion insignia and last but not least, a golden orange indicating the sun breakers. They stood out compared to the scrap like nature of fallen pride but they were hung just as proudly as the house’s colours.

Mithrax himself sat on a throne made of scrap with two spear vandals standing by his side and as the titan entered, he gave a nod. Elsie returned the gesture. “Captain leaving?” Mithrax asked as they approached.

Elsie nodded “yes, but not for long, I’m taking Skye for a flight to get supplies”.

“Ah, captain return with friend Skye?” He continued.

The titan nodded “Yeah, she’s kinda stuck with me since she doesn’t have her own ship right now, if that’s ok”.

“No problem with Skye unless gives reason” Mithrax eyed the warlock “but misraaks wonders if Skye do something for him”.

Skye looked unsure “if I have the ability, then of course, what do you need?”.

The captain got up to approach the warlock “misraaks wants Skye to prove self friend to eliksni, not enough to be friend of friends” he nodded “Captain gave strength, anne accepted defeat for pup, swallowed pride, but what can skye do” he looked at skye expectantly.

Skye looked uncomfortable and shrunk a little “I don’t know...” she sighed “I uh... I am not physically strong, I read books” she bit her lip “I stay in the tower as an informant mostly or I study, I don’t think you can use such skills” she admitted “my light is powerful but I can’t use that, I fear I might hurt someone by accident”.

Mithrax gave her a long look before chuckling “why is skye here still? Only because captain is?”.

“Well that is a factor...” Skye nodded “but not the only one... I could go back and leave her here but I want to help look after Anne, I won’t let elsie be punished for disobedience alone again...”. She blushed slightly “I uh, I do find the eliksni facinating however and if given the opportunity, I would love to learn about your kind” she bit her lip “the tower knows of the eliksni, but only knows of their threat, I’d like to understand the eliksni if that isn’t too much to ask. I admit that I fear you and your house, but I want to change that, I want to understand”.

After another long thought, Mithrax nodded “make deal, you bring me token of promise, I let you learn of eliksni”.

Skye nodded “what should I bring?”.

“Something worthy of trust, Skye choose, ask friend for help but return with token of Skye” he looked to elsie “Captain may help, but must let skye choose on own”.

Elsie nodded and gave a salute “of course”. Skye looked incredibly nervous but looked thoughtfully determined.

“Good, looking forward to seeing warlocks promise” he nodded before looking to the titan “was there reason for coming to see misraaks?”.

Elsie nodded “it’s only polite to tell you if I’m leaving, but there was another thing, which I suppose might have to wait” she looked to skye before looking back to the captain “I would like to ask if it’s ok for me to show Skye around?”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “sure, misraaks come with, show Skye eliksni, might give ideas... will walk to ship with guardians” he nodded “want talk to captain” he admitted “follow” he motioned them along.

The two guardians shared a glance before following “is something going on?” Elsie asked.

Mithrax tilted his head thoughtfully “some eliksni want to see strength, think your feats were just words, think misraaks might think too highly of captain, hard to believe mere guardian won battle in ways of old” he chuckled “will captain accept a challenge?” He looked to the titan.

Elsie looked surprised before looking uncomfortable “I wouldn’t have to kill would I?”.

“Depends on challenger, may want fight to death... would be fools decision against guardian who can conquer death” he chuckled “mostly want proof of your strength, your will is strong, your decision brutal, none can argue, gave life for eliksni despite history of guardians and eliksni, but strength another matter”.

Skye looked thoughtful “what makes elsie a captain, why did she earn the title specifically?”.

“Offered to help eliksni on own decision, did not hesitate to put herself in danger to save eliksni” he nodded “I heard rumours of your brutality in dark den... brought what you call knights down with bare fists with no help and most impressive, did things that made her leading captain feel ill without question. Captains battle knowledge was far beyond her own leaders knowledge and that was before sacrificing self to ensure eliksni safety, no one questions what her mind can do, but she did ultimately fall victim to wizard... she remained standing yes, but only misraaks seen captains true strength in fight”.

Skye looked at elsie with quiet admiration “what could possibly sicken a captain?” She asked carefully.

“Hive may be infestation but to kill young like what was described... truly heinous, was told she cut young from their birthing place and kill with no hesitation, such actions make elinski respect and fear captain, shows will to do anything” he admitted.

“Did you find a breeding ground?” Skye asked elsie.

The titan nodded looking dark “I wasn’t about to let it fester there”.

“It takes teams of guardians to take out some breeding grounds... no wonder you almost died...” Skye sighed.

“So what your saying is that the eliksni want to see me fight properly?” Elsie asked.

Mithrax nodded “Captain looks gentle, doesn’t wear armour proudly like eliksni, doesn’t have to, but some feel you should or perhaps you do not want title”.

“Oh, I see, well I could start wearing my armour easy enough, but I guess that won’t solve the problem...” she looked thoughtful “I need to prove myself to your house”.

“Exactly, thinking like eliksni now, so will captain hold her title?” He stopped and looked curious “will you prove misraaks sees for what is?”.

Elsie looked a bit torn before nodding and she punched her palm “yes I will, I will fight for my place” she assured “but if I can avoid it, I will not kill”.

Mithrax looked pleased “wonderful, should be entertaining”.

Skye looked to elsie with concern “are you sure?”.

Elsie nodded “it’s not like I haven’t fought like this before... hell, Anne and I often spar with each other to the death, or did, and will do again, it’s not that foreign a concept. If someone wants to challenge me, then I accept” she sighed “I just feel uncomfortable with knowing the other person doesn’t have a ghost... I however have an issue with making Mithrax look bad, I’d like to avoid that” she admitted “I’ll prove his faith is founded to the best of my ability”.

“Misraaks is anxious to see hunter in former glory, watching guardians fight sounds entertaining” he admitted. 

Skye looked hesitant “when could this be happening?”.

“When Captain is challenged, if challenged” he started moving again thoughtfully.

“What are the rules? Last time I fought, I was going blind, I just hoped I was doing the right thing, am I allowed to come back to life?” Elsie asked.

“Misraaks teach captain noble ways of eliksni” he promised. It was about then he stopped. They had walked opposite to the ship bay to a doorway covered with fallen cloth and he turned to face the warlock “Skye must stay with misraaks or captain, going beyond eliksni defences, will kill on site if threaten eliksni, but act of trust, one of many”.

Skye nodded nervously and elsie gave her a supportive smile before Mithrax led the way through the doorway. As soon as they entered the next room, it was different. It appeared that for the most part, beyond the curtains was the equivalent to the city walls, the area was made up of the ship bay and a number of rooms populated with various numbers of fallen. 


	11. Behind the Curtain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new take on the eliksni and maybe even elsie.

On crossing the curtain however, it was clear that this was where most of the fallen hid and just the first room was full of various adds that immediately looked suspiciously at the party that entered, their eyes resting more so on the warlock than any one else. Quite a few eliksni scattered as they walked through but it was almost like walking through the busy tower only in this case, it was fallen. 

Eliksni could be seen talking amongst themselves, looking after weapons and other subtle activities, There even looked to be some potential games being played. As they walked through the new areas, there were more fallen than Skye had ever seen and while it gave her some fear, she found herself fascinated, she could almost see the noble past that the fallen once had.

There was nothing particularly interesting until they reached another large room on the scale of the landing bay, this room however was not nearly as empty and in the centre of it was a huge metal structure. It looked alien, resembling the old shells that were half buried in the cosmodrome and the outside was rusted through in places. Over the years it had crumbled and a long metal tube with two large wings on the side now laid on its stomach, tilted to one side. The bottom had bent ripples where it had been crushed under its own weight. 

The Fallen had picked the metal clean in places but for the most part, it appeared that they were choosing to keep this particular construction in one piece. What area wasn’t taken up by the metal shell was taken up by large piles of scrap and fallen were spotted around the room, they looked as though they were the equivalent of tradesmen, working on something but it wasn’t clear as to what.

Skye was burning with curiousity but continued following with quiet awe and they moved on. They passed a room guarded by two fallen captains and Skye earned more suspious looks before they entered what appeared to be the last room and it again was completely different. This room connected to the previous and also had not been stripped entirely and large machines were spotted at various points across the room, the fallen had also strung up lines of wire and cloth across the ceilings as well as built what looked like makeshift houses out of a mix of scrap and cloth. 

A lot of fallen populated this area but Skye had to do a double take, a vandal sat crouched in a doorway staring at the warlock and at first the fallen behind her looked to be doing the same until Skye reaslised it was much smaller. As it curiously crawled around to get a better look, it became clear that it must have been a pup. looking around at the other fallen that populated the area, more pups became obvious among vandals and the odd captain alike, there were no dregs in this area. 

Mithrax came to a stop and looked to Skye thoughtfully “friend appeared surprised by eliksni” he observed.

Skye nodded “this place is amazing... I never would have thought...” she looked to Mithrax “i haven’t seen anything like it, it’s like our city, not where the guardians live but the civilians...” she smiled “this is incredible, I have just never thought about eliksni like this... I only knew them as enemies before this, with the exception of variks the loyal,” a sadness crossed the warlocks features “this is something the city would never... could never understand...”

Elsie nodded “you see why I didn’t run off to the city and start talking now don’t you?”.

Skye nodded and pulled elsie into a hug “yes”.

Mithrax watched the two thoughtfully “wounds run deep, but good to see hope, guardians one day work with eliksni perhaps”.

Skye nodded “I hope so”.

They were distracted as elsie looked around, a group of small pups had gathered curiously by one of the houses and they eyed the warlock off uncertainly however they seemed to want to approach the party. Seeing this, elsie dropped her bag and stepped away a few steps before crouching and eyeing them off in return. For a moment, they seemed unsure but after a moment, two little vandals took off at a run towards the titan, followed by their friends, elsie was ready and since she was unarmoured currently, dodged the pups nimbly with a cheeky smile and so begun a game of trying to catch the titan.

It didn’t take long before they managed to out wit the the titan with their sheer numbers and they climbed up her with joyful growls, elsie pretended to fall so the pups could claim their win triumphantly. The titan laughed happily and eventually sat up to let the pups continue playing and checking her out curiously. Skye watched with surprise and couldn’t help but giggle. 

Mithrax looked equally as amused “Captain is good with young” he observed.

“Elsie is good with everyone” skye admitted with an envious sigh “she is a great friend...” she blushed slightly.

Mithrax nodded “made powerful friend in captain” he looked to the warlock curiously “have met and killed many guardians, but none so adaptable as captain, learns quickly, has way with eliksni, is same with guardians?”.

Skye nodded “elsie can make friends with anyone, she has a big heart and a great sense of humour... she can make anyone smile if she has enough time” she sighed adoringly as she watched the titan play “I always wished I could do what she could” she admitted.

“You appear to want captain as Mate” Mithrax observed , making Skye immediately go red and look away.

“Oh, no, I mean, I couldn’t... we are just friends, that’s all” she muttered weakly “I work too much to have a... mate... as you would say”.

Mithrax chuckled “it’s amusing watching guardians react, such strange reactions”.

Skye bit her lip “what do you mean?”.

“Well for one, you and friends are different to awoken I’ve known, not as much structure” he nodded “none of you came from reef?” He asked.

“No” Skye shook her head “we only know the city... and even then, I only really know the tower... guardians and civilians don’t mix much” she admitted “we don’t have the chance to learn how to fit in... anywhere... we exist to fight”.

“Where did Skye come from if not from reef or city?” He looked curious.

Skye chuckled “well my ghost found me in an asteroid belt... my ship crashed in my past life and I was just there floating in space, i don’t know anymore about my past life” she admitted “I don’t remember”.

“Strange place to be found” Mithrax mused “explains much”.

“Have you been to the reef?” Skye asked carefully.

The captain nodded “used to live there, had awoken friends, taught common, left reef”.

Their conversation paused as elsie returned, although she brought some friends with her, a pup hung off her shoulders curiously “sorry, we can go whenever you’re both ready” elsie smiled.

Skye smiled “you found a friend” she mused playfully.

“He’s cute right?” She replied playfully. The pup growled playfully from her shoulder, it was about the size of a toddler but much smaller and more nimble. 

“Yes” Skye chuckled “I see you lost the fight” she teased.

Elsie looked playfully offended “look here you, you try fighting a hoard of little monkeys and tell me how you go” she replied playfully.

Skye laughed “i mean I would, but it’s more amusing watching you” she teased.

Elsie shook her head with a sigh “Your just no fun” she replied with a cheeky smile. The pup seemed to watch her and copied her innocently before grunting at skye and crawling up to jump over to Mithrax and climb up to his shoulders instead.

The captain didn’t seem bothered and he watched as a few other pups came over to investigate the guardians curiously. Skye flinched as she felt some hands claw their way up her skirt and before she knew it she had a pup playing with her hair curiously, Skye herself looked nervous as she felt a lot of eyes watch her protectively.

“Pups do not share same hesitation as older eliksni” Mithrax chuckled.

“Clearly...” Skye replied “is this.. ok?” She asked nervously “I don’t want to offend...”. The pup was shortly joined by other and they growled playfully to each other.

Mithrax nodded “pups chose to climb you, do not harm, no problem” he watched the pups thoughtfully.

“Look, you found friends too” elsie mused playfully.

Skye blushed “it appears so...” she looked thoughtful before looking at one of the pup and she offered her hand gently. For a moment, it looked indecisive before crawling round to her front and grabbing it curiously, then then crawled up to put a hand on the warlocks cheek before looking to elsie with some confusion, appearing to be unsure of their different colours, it then became more interested in her armour.

The guardians let the pups play for a few minutes before Mithrax growled at them and they scampered off so the three could start walking back the way they came. The walk had blown skyes mind and she looked at the eliksni with a new respect and as they reached the ship, she looked as if she was itching to study or tinker.

After a moment of thought, mithrax looked to elsie “where is captain and friend going?”.

“Well, I was was going by a guardian settlement to get some supplies, but after that, no idea, I was probably going to go find a fight” she admitted “but I think I’ll be doing that myself at this point” she gave Skye a playful smile “skye will probably sit back and study by the looks of it”.

Skye blushed and went to argue but settled on crossing her arms “it can wait” she muttered.

“Look for fight? Why?” Mithrax asked.

“fun mostly, it’s nice to go beat up some cabal occasionally...” she bit her lip “I did used to enjoy fighting eliksni, but that was before I knew of you, I feel pretty bad about it now” she admitted.

“Captain enjoys fighting eliksni?” He looked unsure.

Elsie nodded “well, they make for interesting opponents... uh, this is going to sound bad, but captains in particular always put up a good fight and enjoyed it. I can dispatch most things easily, eliksni would be no problem either but often uh...” she sighed “the desperation that eliksni often have in the field, it makes them unpredictable and dangerous but it’s a good test, it kept me on my toes, taught me to expect anything” she looked awkward “but of course, my opinions have changed over the last few months”.

Mithrax thought about it for a moment “guardians made for fighting, but not so different to eliksni” he admitted “would captain fight Mithrax?”.

Elsie chuckled “of course, although I lost last time, I imagine it won’t be much of a fight for you”.

“Took advantage of distraction, easy but if not distracted, more challenging fight” he chuckled.

Elsie turned throw her bag onto her ship before looking unsure “I was under the impression that the position of kell was given to the strongest? Theoretically, what would happen if I did somehow manage to win? I wouldn’t want to unknowingly usurp you from your position, I certainly would not want to ruin your standing and I definitely cannot run a house of eliksni” she smiled.

The captain nodded “very true, strongest eliksni rule house, but while captain considered part of house, not eliksni, couldn’t rule unless used force like queen of reef, can fight without intention of taking position of kell” he looked thoughtful “may make some eliksni wonder if they can challenge misraaks, but will accept challenge” he looked thoughtful.

Skye looked to the captain “what if you fought away from prying eyes?”.

“Much less problematic to be sure, but has problems still, may get wounded, eliksni get suspious, better in front of eliksni” he then looked elsie up and down “Captain not in armour yet? Leaving without?”.

Elsie smiled “it takes a second, I figured I didn’t need it right now, but now you mention it” she did a little jump as her armour formed around her and landed with a cheeky chuckle wearing her full fallen armour. She then didn’t hesitate to pull the warlock into a playful hug “lets go scare some people” she teased.

Skye blushed with a squeak “you’re so obnoxious” she muttered.

“You love me” she mused before letting her go and giving Mithrax a glance “we will be back, and then you can do whatever you want with me” she chuckled “within reason of course”. She pulled herself up onto her ship “come on skye, the Sky awaits” she mused as she grabbed her bag and dropped into her ship.

Skye sighed “thank you for everything Mithrax, I guess I gotta try and keep elsie out of trouble, I’ll see you when I get back” she then followed the titan gracefully.

Mithrax watched them take off with amusement and the two guardians were gone. Skye settled comfortably in the back seat and eyed elsie thoughtfully “you really do look like a captain wearing that armour” she admitted. “it’s kinda freaky...”.

Elsie took a moment to correct her course before leaving the flight in sparks hands and she turned. To face the warlock playfully, leaning back in her chair looking cocky “freaky? Good freaky or bad freaky?” She mused.

Skye sighed “I don’t know, does it matter?” She asked raising an eyebrow playfully.

Elsie chuckled before moving and getting up to go over to skye, having to duck slightly because her helmet was so tall. She growled playfully as she pulled the warlock into a hug before tickling her ruthlessly making Skye squeak and break into giggles. despite trying to fight off the titan, she only managed to slip off the bench and Landed on the floor with a surprised squeak. Elsie paused long enough to check she was ok before continuing to tickle her relentlessly until the warlock cried out a weak mercy.

Elsie shifted to sit cross legged beside her with a triumphant laugh “and captain elsie takes another victim” she bragged.

Skye just shoved her breathlessly “you’re so annoying” she sighed but she couldn’t help smiling with a blush ‘what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”.

“No idea” elsie mused “I guess I was just really looking forward to getting away, what about you? You aren’t excited?”.

Skye looked thoughtful “excited is a bit of a stretch but it should be fun at least” she sat up and eyed her armour thoughtfully “well I recognise your tangled shore armour... the cloak and helmet suit it fantastically” she admitted before shifting to grab the cloak and look at it thoughtfully “these are the colours of the house of dusk...” she observed “the fabric itself, it feels handmade... almost feltish” she looked amused “it certainly gives Anne’s cloaks a run for their money”.

Elsie laughed, letting the warlock do her thing “it’s super warm too, I wouldn’t need anything else on a cold night”. Skye shifted her gaze to the helmet and the titan took it off to put it in her hands “I had to adjust it so it fit properly but sparks did a great job fitting it into my armour”. 

Skye looked over the helmet with fascination “I see what she did... it’s fantastic... you really do look very captain like, the eyes in particular are a good touch” she smiled as she admired the four glowing eyes that replicated the eliksni. “How about the tubes? Aren’t they used for ether?” She asked.

Elsie nodded “usually, but sparks just engineered it to be connected to my oxygen converter so yeah, it’s still practical”.

Skye smiled and handed it back “is it ok to use light with?”.

“I haven’t tried but I’m pretty sure it’s fine, but sparks can fix anything if something breaks” she assured “but the best part?” She took the helmet and put it back before leaning forward playfully and acted scary as her helmet let out a fallen growl and Skye laughed with surprise.

“What?” Skye finally asked “why?”.

Elsie relaxed with a chuckle “I had to fight a captain so I had to act like one, sparks set up some sounds to help sell it, it was a lot more basic then this at first but now I don’t need sparks to control the voice module, do you think I’d get in trouble if I wore this to the next festival of the lost party?”.

Skye smiled “you’d probably get yourself shot, that’s what you would do”.

Elsie laughed “aww, no fun” she mused “so, you were busting with ideas before, what were you thinking about?”.

Skye looked unsure before nodding “I think I know what to give Mithrax, fallen love technology, so I was thinking, I could make something for him, I’m not sure what, I had ideas but I got distracted” she admitted “but, after that walk...” she looked thoughtful “speaking of, the kids loved you” she observed “how often do you spend time with the kids?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “well... not that much, but Mithrax walks around with us sometimes and at first they were quite wary of me, which is fair, when I was armoured, they were particularly wary but this one time, we’d taken a few walks and a few of them started crawling on Mithrax and he explained that pups loved to play, the elinski use play as a way to prepare them for when they were older so things like climbing and stuff is really good, and I asked if I could try playing with them” she smiled “so he told me, what you do is to crouch, show that you are treating them like an equal” she smiled “and then you wait. The pups weren’t sure to start with and were initially just confused but after they got over that, I just started playing with them” she shrugged “they are just like kids honestly, only they growl at you, it’s fun”.

Skye looked at her with admiration “you know you’d be a great parent right?”.

Elsie laughed “no way, I work too much” she mused “I’d actually need to go out and find someone I half like to look after a kid in my stead”.

“Not necessarily, you could just run away to join the fallen?” She shrugged playfully.

“I don’t think that’s gonna work twice” elsie smiled “but it’s a cute thought, not to mention, I barely survived Anne... there’s no way I could do that myself” she shook her head “nope, you couldn’t pay me enough”.

Skye looked thoughtful “so all the time you spent with her? What was it like?” She asked curiously “like, you had to come back and you acted like everything was normal, but then I found out you were coming here? It’s you had to be here at least every week right?”

Elsie nodded “initially, because I was dumb, the fallen weren’t sure, I mean I saved a few fallen but they were still nervous for a while, Mithrax was always pretty good though, I tried to visit once a week even if it was only for a night” she sighed “I mean when I first got here, Anne was pretty beat up. Not necessarily physically but mentally, she was ridiculously lonely I think and I can understand that, sometimes a ghost isn’t enough you know...” she bit her lip “at first, she really just wanted a bunch of cuddles and she was really happy to see me, maybe she just wanted someone else to talk too, she was pretty hungry for other things too but mostly she was just lonely and emotional, she started looking better every week so I think I was doing the right thing” she admitted “but I was just doing my best”.

Skye blushed slightly “she seemed to really like you by the time I saw you two together” she admitted.

“Well I always knew things would probably go back to how they were, but...” she took her helmet off with a blush “I’d be lying if we neither of us didn’t enjoy our time...I think I may have warped her preferences slightly but not so much to change anything” she admitted “I think she just enjoyed me since I was there and offering... and I’m ok with that, I guess it does create a sense of comfort that wasn’t there before” elsie looked thoughtful.

Skye bit her lip “I didn’t know your preferences weren’t as straight laced as you” she admitted “it surprised me”.

Elsie chuckled “for some reason it surprised Anne too” she leaned back with a comfortable sigh “since we are on the topic” she blushed slightly “you looked kinda cut up when... your not offended that we...” she looked awkward “because I know we are friends and everything and it honestly the biggest thing I was worrying about, changing our friendship and making things weird...”.

Skye shook her head quickly looking embarrassed “oh no, I uh, no of course I don’t mind... uh... you know... we all have... needs” she muttered “I was just a bit... surprised” she cleared her throat “I mean, Anne usually the deviant one and your usually keeping her in check, and yeah, you play around but your literally the most militaristic person I know besides commander Zavala himself you know” she chuckled weakly “while your working anyway and I guess I just thought that you’d be taking all this... well seriously i guess...”.

Elsie smiled “I was... but admittedly I can’t resist... attention..” she blushed deeply “god, I guess I sound bad right, and I saw her and I just... I couldn’t resist looking after her, I knew she needed it and she was driving me crazy...” she put her head in her hands “there’s words for people like me...” she finally sighed.

Skye got up to grab her hands gently “no, it’s ok, I mean, granted I didn’t know, because you just never said anything... but I don’t mind it... it just kinda sounds like you want someone to love just as much....” she admitted quietly.

Elsie looked up to her before looking away with embarrassment “I mean I don’t have time... even if I did...” she shook her head “I’m not really the feminine type... and I’m probably too stubborn...” she bit her lip “no, I don’t think it would work out, not after seeing the boys on the wall, their egos are too easy to kill” she chuckled weakly.

Skye looked thoughtful “but your not looking for a guy are you?” She asked quietly.

Elsie couldn’t respond right away “not really” she admitted “but that comes with its own problems... I don’t have time to chase a woman... they tend to be more high maintence... you know” she swallowed hard “it’s easier to just not”.

The warlock smiled gently with a blush “well... I think you’d be great, sure, maybe you’d get busy but there’s no bigger sweetheart anywhere, your just a really strong teddy bear most of the time...” she bit her lip “I think whoever got you would be lucky and I’d probably correct them painfully if they didn’t agree” she admitted.

Elsie chuckled “honestly, I have my eye on this one person...” she blushed “I was always too scared to say anything” she sighed “I mean if I said something and it made things weird and I lost a friend...” she looked defeated.

The warlock smiled “have I met her?” She asked curiously.

Elsie nodded “well I’d hope so...” she bit her lip with a deep blush “her names Skye...” she trailed off awkwardly and freed her hands to hold them together uncomfortably, she could barely look at the warlock “I didn’t want to say anything but it’s been bothering me for the longest time and I may as well say it... if it’s going to ruin things then... so be it” she sighed weakly.

The warlock looked shocked and blushed deeply “oh...” she replied quietly.

Elsie sat quietly for a moment before clearing her throat “I should probably check on sparks...” she muttered as she went to get up.

“Wait” Skye blurted out “I mean... uh...” she looked embarrassed “I kinda... well... you know... I like you too...” she admitted “I just thought that you wouldn’t... and when I saw...”.

Elsie looked hopeful at this “no way... what? Someone like me?”.

Skye nodded “I uh, you know, your pretty, strong, your armour makes you look ridiculously good... and that’s not even considering how big your heart is... you just... who wouldn’t want you?” She blushed deeply. Elsie looked thoughtfully surprised and finally broke into a laugh making Skye look confused “what’s so funny?”.

After a moment elsie spoke “oh, nothing, I just... you know, after all this...” she paused to giggle “no wonder...”. Skye looked puzzled and elsie pulled her into a tight hug “Your the best...” elsie finally mused “your just the best...” she sighed.

Skye Hugged her back with confusion “I’m sorry, you’ve lost a warlock... that’s quite an achievement, your gonna need to be a little clearer”.

Elsie nodded “ok, like, you turn up and practically the first thing you see after everything is me make out with Anne right? And then that on top of everything I put you through by lying... and you still like me let alone like like me?... I just... I can’t believe it, after everything I’ve said, and you know what I’ve been up too...” she gave a coy smile “I’m pretty sure your supposed to be mad or upset”.

Skye chuckled “oh, well I can’t be mad at you...” she admitted “you were only doing what you thought was right...” she blushed a bit “not to mention it’s you... I don’t know how you do it, but you can warm anyone up” she muttered.

The titan smiled thoughtfully “so what now?” She asked “I like you, you like me? We both do what we do...” she blushed “I mean we are already a lot further then I thought we’d ever be” she admitted.

Skye looked unsure “I don’t know... I uh... didn’t expect any of this... I just really thought that you...” she sighed “I feel like I don’t even know you...” she chuckled.

Elsie chuckled “you aren’t missing much” she promised with a blush.

“I’m not sure I agree... I mean... your usually so restrained...” Skye explained “yet your always so happy and comfortable to be around... your just safe and then this... you like me for one thing and then you say you like...” she blushed “i mean, I guess we all do in a sense but I just... it’s like a different side of you, you just have so much passion for it all” Skye explained.

Elsie bit her lip “well I guess, I just enjoy looking after people and seeing them happy, being a guardian isn’t always... fun... but I like to change that if I can, and I mean sure, be serious if necessary but...” she sighed “put it this way, I’d do anything to make someone happy” she got up with a sigh and moved back to the cockpit “if that means fuck someone, then yeah, I’ll do that and have some fun with it too, you know?” She blushed “I’m always a step away from horny, so that’s the easiest thing for me ever” she admitted.

Skye smiled with a deep blush “see it’s really hard to imagine you in that way... I mean armour wise, you look fantastic and I mean” she cleared her throat “I deeply enjoy the veiw.... but I mean... its kinda... well the last thing you would expect for... someone promiscuous...” she muttered. 

Elsie nodded “it’s easy to separate work from fun and I suppose... people like me... well, I suppose it looks bad, I mean...” she sighed “it’s not necessarily the fuck I want, it’s the love and affection I chase” she admitted “sex is good, sure but that feeling where someone loves you completely for you and just revels in you... even if it’s for a night, you know, that’s what I chase...” she blushed “I had to teach Anne how to do it” she admitted “but she got the hang of it eventually, and even that craving is different to what I’d like in an actual partner if I ever had the chance...” she bit her lip.

Skye looked unsure “so would you want to try anything with a partner?”.

Elsie sighed “it’s complicated, I mean, I like you but I’m kinda a bit of a control freak with my own affairs...” she looked thoughtful “to begin with, if I did start something with anyone... They’d need to know that they will never come first in my life, I’m a guardian and if called, then I will always drop everything to do my duty” she looked uncomfortable “that already complicates things... but on top of that, I’d have to like the person who actually agreed to that, and traveller knows there’s very few people who would agree to begin with and I can be a bit attention hungry at the best of times so I’d either be not around or all over that person, I want to be able to have fun but also just feel completely loved”.

“Some patience wouldn’t hurt either” sparks spoke up “her eyes wander” she added and elsie nodded.

“Honestly, it’s nice to voice my thoughts, but I wouldn’t recommend starting anything with me, I’d hate to break up our fireteam” elsie admitted weakly before giving her a glance “man you drive me crazy though” she chuckled, her eyes searching her with admiration “so if anything, at least you have my vote of confidence right?”.

Skye cleared her throat with a deep blush “thank you” she murmured and shifted to sit on the back seat “I can understand the whole guardian thing” she admitted “I’d be the same... we were born to fight for the light, that has to be our first priority but the rest isn’t that bad you know, perhaps I’m just very passive but I don’t think you would be that bad, you just want to be loved, and I can’t really argue with that need...” she nodded.

Elsie focused once more on the cockpit and took over the controls “so what is even so interesting about me anyway? Now that you know my secret love life, I don’t really have much else to offer, sure I’m nice and loyal but I’m a soldier, they aren’t that interesting, a bit basic even” she sighed “I’m not very... feminine... or anything”.

Skye bit her lip “well... I mean, besides your looks... and it’s not just your body but I love the way you look” she sighed “I love your simplicity” she admitted “not because your dumb or anything because your not, you have an incredible understanding of tactics but the fact you don’t over complicate everything, you just have this way of calming me down and if I’m thinking too much, i just need to talk to you and you can figure it it out or help me figure it out” she chuckled “you remind me to not take things so seriously and you make me laugh when I need it the most”. 

She looked up to elsie “I just think your perfect mostly” she blushed “and I kinda like how you can control a situation... I don’t mind a stronger presence...” bit her lip.

The titan looked thoughtful as the ship slowed and she swung into a landing “Perfect seems a bit much” she chuckled. After a moment she got up and eyed her armour before shrugging and she pulled out her bag before leaning on the wall briefly to look at her with admiration “well you have me surprised and I appreciate the compliments” she mused before leaning down to press a kiss on the warlocks cheek “you are too sweet” she smiled before pulling herself out of the ship effortlessly.

Skye went bright red and put a hand on her cheek looking surprised, taking a moment to recover her dignity. Hope appeared over her shoulder looking curious “you ok?”.

Skye shook her head “no? My crush just... what?...” she giggled “I mean.... I can’t even process...”

Hope laughed “aww, you know your cute when your embarrassed” she teased.

“Shut up” Skye muttered.

After minute or so, Skye finally followed and caught up the titan who looked as though nothing had happened as she spoke to a tower frame. They were at the farm, and while once it was their last save haven during the red war, now it just functioned as restock point to save guardians having to return to the tower. It was particularly good for scouts who could camp there and head back out immediately rather than going through the over complicated channels of the tower.

After a few minutes, elsie had filled her bag with the things she needed and started to head back to her ship only to be stopped by a hunter. 

“Hey, where’d you get that cloak?” He asked curiously.

Elsie looked amused “oh, took it off a captain” she shrugged.

The hunter looked at the cloak thoughtfully “it’s house of dusk though, true house of dusk, do you know how hard it can be to get a true house of dusk cloak, from a captain too” he sounded impressed “usually they wear colours from other houses and still have old marks...” he looked the titan up and down “why the get up anyway, you look fallen” he observed.

“I’m scouting currently and I decided to try out a new tactic, as long as I keep my distance, I can get away with the fallen leaving me alone mostly, it’s surprisingly effective” she smiled.

The hunter looked thoughtful “huh, hiding in plain sight, that’s clever for a titan” he chuckled.

Elsie chuckled “maybe I”m just lucky” she mused.

“Well I just had to ask, sorry” the hunter apologised before turning and walking off.

Elsie nodded and continued heading back to her ship and once inside, sparks appeared “uh, you need to answer this...” she muttered “commander Zavala wants to speak with you...”.

Elsie cringed but sat down with a nod “go ahead”. Skye shifted to stand beside the titan as sparks activated the screen and a feed of the awoken commander started playing.

Zavala looked angry “captain, there you are, I demand an explanation now” he growled.

Elsie leaned back with a sigh before sitting up straight and nodding “yes sir, I found boa and I’m out here looking after her, she is currently unable to leave her position so I’m protecting her until she can, I didn’t have a choice to keep Arctic with me, I will accept any punishment you think is suitable when I can return to the tower”.

The titan looked a little surprised “where is she, I can arrange assistance for you”.

“I apologise sir, but I can’t tell you, I must insist on doing this myself” elsie replied.

“Are you disobeying me?” Zavala asked.

Elsie nodded “yes sir”.

“You will be severely punished for this” he threatened “both of you” he looked to Skye “you have one more chance to tell me where boa is”.

Skye looked nervous “I’m sorry sir, I can’t do that, I will accept my punishment without question but I have to support my fireteam”.

Elsie started to busy herself with the cockpit and Zavala slammed his hands on the table “i will have you hunted down” he threatened angrily.

“In that case, I gotta go, don’t worry, you can punish me later” elsie promised before chuckling “I am sooo dead, but I’ll see you at the tower sir” she gave a salute and smiled playfully before the feed cut off and she took off quickly, surprising Skye who almost fell backwards. 

“Elsie! What are you?!-“ Skye asked weakly.

“You better sit down, this is going to be fun” elsie muttered as she soared away from the farm, it was barely a minute before a ship approached on her radar and elsie shook he head “ugh, ok, sparks, take over” she stood and went to skye “you take over for me, whatever you need to do, lose our friends for me”.

Skye looked confused but nodded and did as she was told and elsie sat at the back of the ship. Skye quickly took over and snapped to focus and after a second to adjust, kicked the ship into gear “lead me sparks”.


	12. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good things come to an end.

With the combination of sparks navigation and skyes manuvering, they managed to lose their follower after cleverly using the edz to their advantage. Elsies ship wasn’t the fastest but it was tough so they took advantage of that by taking some tree cover to change direction, taking out a few small trees in the process. She then ducked out to go the opposite direction, by the time their follower noticed, they couldn’t keep up and instead threw a few missiles at them in frustration and Skye easily swung the ship into a twist dodging them effortlessly before disappearing behind a mountain. They watched as their follower soared past cluelessly and Skye used the chance to once more head back the way they were going originally. 

“ok, your good” Skye sighed.

“Head down there” sparks ordered.

“Shouldn’t we-“ Skye begun.

“No, we definitely need to land” sparks corrected.

Skye looked confused but did as she was told and elsie didn’t hesitate to pull herself out and escape the ship quickly. The warlock looked confused and followed to find the titan crouching weakly and leaning against a tree.

“Hey, what’s up?” Skye asked gently.

Elsie shook her head and simply held up a hand, she looked very ill and after a moment she threw up. Skye looked unsure and instantly moved to support her. After elsie had emptied her stomach, she sat down and buried her face in her hands weakly “I hate flying...” she muttered darkly.

Skye looked surprised “what? Did I make you sick?” She looked apologetic “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know...”.

Elsie shook her head “don’t apologise, you had too” she groaned “doesn’t mean I like it any more...”.

“So what, you get airsick?” Skye asked carefully and Elsie just nodded. “Well can I get you anything? Water or something to eat?” She continued.

“Ask sparks for some water” she muttered “give me five”. Skye nodded and returned quickly to the ship to get her some water and sat down with her, offering it to the sick looking titan, elsie took it gratefully.

It was a bit awkward for a bit but after a few minutes, elsie got up reluctantly still looking uneasy and she gave her ship a glare before climbing back inside and they took off a lot more gently this time, elsie however remained sick and grumpy so they decided just to head home to the fallen settlement. 

After a deathly quiet flight back, they had really only been gone for an hour, an hour and a half at most so instead of returning to Anne’s room, elsie simply set up a spare sleeping bag in her ship and settled onto that to have a grumpy nap, Skye watched over her with worry before settling into tinkering.

The fallen seemed a bit confused when they didn’t immediately surface from the ship and evidently this made them curious as after half an hour or so, the ship rocked gently as someone walked over top of it, Skye got up to open the hatch and pulled herself up to sit on the roof to see mithrax looking curious.

“Hey Mithrax” Skye greeted before looking apologetic “sorry, I’m not finished your gift yet” she looked guilty “I didn’t get a chance”.

Mithrax crouched “that’s fine, where is captain? Spent long time in ship? What’s wrong...”.

Skye bit her lip “uh, well she was just feeling unwell, so she’s having a nap, that’s all and I figured I probably shouldn’t leave without her so I thought I’d just work on your gift” she sighed “it wasn’t as easy a flight as we hoped it would be”.

Mithrax moved over to look down to the sleeping titan “ah, why captain unwell?”.

“Well... we kinda made the guardians mad... and I was forced to use some arial manoeuvres... as it turns out, elsie doesn’t like flying that much... and she got sick” she looked guilty.

The captain looked thoughtful “hmm, strange guardian she is... strong but also weak” he chuckled “Mithrax can take Skye to friend” he offered. 

Skye bit her lip before nodding “sure, I could use some help from Anne to be honest, give me a second” she slipped back into the ship and quickly wrote a note for the titan and set it beside her. She then grabbed her stuff before escaping the cabin and she closed the hatch gently “ok, let’s go”.

Mithrax nodded and jumped off to lead the way, Skye followed gracefully. The eliksni were slowly getting more comfortable with the warlock and she garnered less attention as she followed the kell back to the hunters room and with a familiar nod from the captain guarding her, they walked in to find Anne awake and feeding her child. Mithrax left Skye there after making sure she was fine leaving the two guardians and Anne looked up with amusement before looking surprised “one of you is missing...” she observed “where did elsie go?”.

Skye chuckled “well, she’s having a nap in her ship... as it turns out, she doesn’t like flying” she looked unsure “turns out all you need to do is fly really fast to take her out”.

Anne smiled before breaking into a laugh “oh no, you flew too fast? Why? I bet she is super impressed”.

Skye looked awkward “well, I mean, we went to the farm to get supplies and then Zavala contacted elsie and we kinda had to escape a follower... he is going to kill us when we return to the tower on another note, we refused to tell him where you were” she sighed “I was confused because elsie just told me to take over and I did. we escaped but we had to out manoeuvre a missile and then sparks told me to land and elsie just... I honestly didn’t know she hated flying” she admitted.

“Oh, yeah, that will get her” Anne mused “im surprised you lasted until landing then, she hates flying, especially with me” she smiled “but other than that, how was the trip?”.

“Well, it was great until we made enemies of the vanguard” skye replied with an uncomfortable blush “it was enlightening, we didn’t end up getting around to fighting anything though since elsie wasn’t feeling well”.

Anne looked at the warlock thoughtfully “so you guys didn’t end up doing anything?”.

“No, we only talked about things” Skye admitted looking shy “it was good...”.

Anne gently shifted her child to burp her gently since she was finished “sounds like quite the conversation... you look nervous” she observed playfully “what did you guys talk about?”.

Skye blushed “oh, I mean, it was ok... we uh... we talked about you and stuff and then other things... I mean...” she cleared her throat “nothing too important”.

Anne chuckled “Why were you talking about me?” She asked with amusement.

“I mean I was just curious about the time she was spending with you and stuff” she blushed “what it was like staying with the eliksni and stuff....” she trailed off awkwardly.

Anne smiled “that’s not the right reaction for that kind of conversation” she mused “I think it was more personal than that” she teased before leaning over “do you like elsie?” She asked carefully. Skye blushed deeper and hid her face which was all the answer Anne needed and she smiled “you do, did you guys talk about it?” She continued curiously.

Skye took a moment to find her words before finally stumbling something out “yes... I mean.. kinda....”.

Anne looked excited “no way, so are you guys a thing now?”.

Skye shook her head quickly “no, not at all, I mean we both like each other but we are guardians... you know, we don’t really have the time...”.

Anne sighed “ah, screw that, come on, you can’t let that stop you” she raised her eyebrow “that’s bull” she turned her attention to her child and begun to help her settle back to sleep “so what, you guys are just gonna be awkward forever i guess?”.

“No” Skye assured “I mean, I don’t think so” she bit her lip “elsie kinda has a good point... if something were to happen, the fireteam could fall apart” she sighed “it’s probably smarter not too” she looked defeated “on another note, can I borrow a knife?”.

“What for?” Anne asked suspiciously.

Skye settled beside the bed and dug through her bag to pull out a bond “see, Mithrax asked for a gift from me, as a show of trust and peace” she sighed “if I had my ship, I could make something more useful, but unfortunately, I don’t have much, so as a promise, I’m gonna give him one of my bonds after me and hope adjust it”. The bond flickered on in her hands showing the glowing symbol of house light rather than an average warlocks symbol.

“I think he will like that, although he likes technology in general” Anne admitted “why a knife though?”.

Skye smiled “I’d like to cut off this extra leather and re-skin it”.

Anne looked thoughtful “sure” she shifted to hold out her hand and dust put a knife in it so she could offer it to the warlock. 

Skye looked grateful and started working away thoughtfully. Anne left her alone for five minutes so she could put her child to sleep before prompting more conversation “I’m tossing up names” she admitted “can I ask some advice?”.

“Sure” Skye mused as she worked “go ahead”.

“Well, I’m a guardian... and you know, guardians have different names too... everyone” she sighed “I was thinking a more traditional name but I just have no idea, and it’s been a few days so I really should come up with something” Anne looked frustrated.

Skye bit her lip thoughtfully “traditional as in awoken or city? There’s different types” she smiled “or eliksni?” She teased.

Anne looked unsure “well I thought about both but I was considering awoken, I hadn’t even thought about eliksni...” she admitted “but maybe I should ask Mithrax too?”.

“Well you can’t go wrong with eliksni if you want something different-ouch” she flinched as she stabbed her fingers with a needle “but up to you of course, for awoken names... let me think about it” she smiled.

Anne nodded thoughtfully and set the child to the side to lay down with a sigh “thanks, so how are you going?”. She looked curiously at the bond in the warlocks hands, the warlock was now sewing coloured cloth matching the house of light around the bond.

Skye sighed “well, it’s ok, I’m not really happy with it, but I just don’t have the resources to do what I wanted to do”.

“What did you want to do?” Anne asked.

“Well...” she paused to give it a thought “I wanted to make a device that would do something helpful, and my thoughts were a device to contact us wherever we may be” she nodded “but I’d need a powerful radio that can connect to the ghost network without revealing their position”.

Anne looked thoughtful “well, it saves sending eliksni to try and pass on a message” she started playing with her dress “well, what if you didn’t make it mobile, right? Do you remember those... I think they were stationary radio towers? I think rasputin has used them, hell fallen I think use them sometimes, why don’t you just reprogram something like that to just pick up our ghosts and set it up in a random field somewhere just in case a guardian does pick it up”.

Skye crossed her arms thoughtfully “that might work, I could easily get out and keep it going too” she nodded “but I’d need a tower first then...” she sighed “I still can’t do it right away”.

Anne nodded “look, I know this isn’t going to sound... good... but what about hijacking a guardian tower, then half your work is done right?”.

Skye looked uncomfortable “I mean... I could and it’s not unusual to see those towers go offline occasionally” she looked torn “I know where some are...”.

“You could go out with Mithrax, so it looks like the fallen did it” Anne offered “I’m sure if you explained...”.

The warlock nodded “but what if we are noticed, I don’t want to get them killed...”.

“Take elsie, she looks great, no ones going to think twice about seeing a fallen captain attacking and it doesn’t matter if she dies really, she can just come back when they are gone” Anne smiled “we can figure something out” she promised, it’s a great idea though”.

“In the meantime, I’ll just work on this” Skye sighed and continued tinkering “I miss my house” she admitted “I could have done so much cool stuff if I was at home”.

Anne chuckled “I wouldn’t put it past you” she mused “so I’m dying to know, how long have you liked elsie for?”.

Skye stabbed her finger once more and she simply looked a mix angry and embarrassed “I mean... a while, I guess” she muttered.

“I used to see the way you’d look at her and wonder” Anne admitted “I guess it was what it looked like” she mused playfully “so did you guys make out or anything?” She asked.

Skye blushed deeply “no, of course not... we just talked and stuff, she told me how she felt and I said how I felt and then elsie talked about why it probably wouldn’t work” she sighed and put a hand on her cheek “she did kinda... kiss my cheek though” she muttered shyly.

Anne looked thoughtful “much more tame than i was expecting”.

“Tame?” Skye repeated “what do you mean by that?”.

Anne shifted to her side tenderly to look at skye “I had no idea right. But back when she turned up, yeah sure, she hadn’t done anything for a while but all I had to do was tease and she would give me anything I wanted and more, she was ridiculously up front about everything and didn’t hide anything” she chuckled “she was ridiculously aggressive at the best of times”.

Skye blushed “what? I mean on the field, of course she is but... today we just... talked”.

“Maybe she was just shy maybe... she did mention she had a crush on you ages ago” Anne looked thoughtful “I thought she would sweep you off your feet to be honest”.

“She told you?” Skye blushed.

“Of course, I asked and I mean” she cleared her throat with embarrassment “she’d already... so there wasn’t much point hiding it from me... you know” she chuckled “so she told me how she felt about you, although she asked me not to say anything because she was worried about breaking up our fireteam”.

Skye smiled cutely “I couldn’t tell... I was surprised when she said it”.

Anne nodded “you know when she first turned up, I discovered it by accident and I’m not normally for her type but man she can be cute when you put her on the spot” she chuckled “I know know how to make her speechless so there’s that”.

Skye looked unsure “what? Silence elsie?”.

“Yeah, I’m not even kidding, I made her so nervous she could barely talk, it was adorable” she smiled “it also turns her on though so I’d be careful, she gets a bit forceful if you drag it on” she nodded “that’s another thing, man, she is fantastic at what she does but she can be a bit aggressive”.

Skye blushed with a chuckle “you sound like you’ve enjoyed yourself?”.

Anne sighed “yeah... surprisingly, I’d almost switch for her to be honest, but there’s nothing there, I’d rather just be friends with benefits occasionally and even then, now I don’t have a baby messing with my hormones, I’m Good” she shrugged “I will miss her though, she has single handedly ruined my enjoyment of sex possibly” she looked to skye playfully “I can teach you a few tricks though if you want”.

Skye looked embarrassed “oh, I mean... we aren’t... it’s ok, we probably won’t even get together...”.

“Even if you don’t, aren’t you a little curious about what it would be like?” Anne teased.

Skye bit her lip thoughtfully “I mean... of course but... it just feels...”

“Hey, I’m not judging, hell, it’s not like I can say anything after these last few months... I don’t care what you guys do and don’t get up too” she smiled “but, if you like her, why not right, there doesn’t need to be any strings attached if you guys agree with each other right?” Anne smiled.

Skye blushed “that’s such an awkward conversation though...” she sighed “I wouldn’t even know where to start and I just... I kinda want more than... it doesn’t matter, none of this is important” she muttered before holding up the bond with defeat, it looked good for a bond, a belt was wrapped with cloth in the colours of house light, the mark glowed proudly in a flat projection that hovered above the ring “I suppose I better go talk to Mithrax”.

Anne looked thoughtful “I’ll come with”.

“You sure?” Skye asked “I can go by myself if you like”.

“No, it’s fine, I want to ask Mithrax a question anyway” she mused “but can you help me up?”. Skye nodded and did as asked, helping the tender hunter up off her bed and Anne picked up her child gently before they headed out. 

As they reached the throne room, Mithrax sat lazily on his throne looking bored and played with a large dagger in two of his hands, arc jumping around the blade as he tapped it with boredom, at the hunters entrance he looked interested “ah, Anne awake, what can Mithrax do?” He asked.

Anne smiled “nothing, I missed you, that’s all” she teased and settled on the scrap lounge beside his throne “I have a question for you”.

Mithrax nodded “ask away friend”.

“I’m stuck on a name” Anne admitted “not sure what to name my child, and I thought I’d ask you for ideas” she smiled.

Mithrax looked surprised “want eliksni name?” He repeated “can give name but perhaps strange for guardian pup”.

“Technically, guardians names are often strange even where we live to be honest” Skye mused.

The captain looked thoughtful “pup is female?”. At Anne’s nod, he tapped his blade as he thought “hmm, eliksni names often hard to speak, misraaks for example” he chuckled “so simple word, kyraas?” He looked to the hunter.

Anne looked at the child thoughtfully “it’s not bad” she admitted. 

“It’s simple” Skye agreed “and normal enough that people may not pick up on its heritage, it’s kinda sweet” she smiled before nodding “oh, before I forget”, her bond appeared in her hands and she approached the captain carefully “honestly, I’d like to do more, but I just don’t have the resources currently, but this is what warlocks call a bond, it’s the equivilent to a hunters cloak or a titans mark, but warlocks wear their pride on their arms” she motioned to her own bond “but this is a gift to you” it activated in her hands.

Mithrax sat up with interest “this is a warlocks cloak?” He took it curiously “how does work?”.

“Well normally our ghosts activate it, but it’s set up so you can activate it at will” she pointed out a hidden button that deactivated it “it’s not much, but consider this a promise that you have my loyalty if needed” she smiled.

Mithrax seemed to consider this thoughtfully “how does wear?”. Skye took a moment to explain it and he put it on with amusement “this fine gift, you seem like you have other plans however”.

Skye nodded “well, I want to give you a way to reach us through the ghost network, to save having to seek us out in the case of something happening, but for that, I’d need either a guardian sensor station or mobile tower, I’d put it somewhere away from your settlement so even if it’s tracked down, it won’t put your settlement at risk, but you will be able to use it to send a message to either one of us directly no matter where we are” she looked frustrated “I just can’t do it right now”.

Mithrax nodded “eliksni could help, would make for useful device” he mused “Skye is clever”.

Skye smiled with a light blush “I wanted to give you something practical” she admitted “but since the tower is currently... dangerous... my talents and helpfulness is limited”.

“What would skye need?” Mithrax asked.

Skye looked thoughtful “well I need a powerful radio that can reach and connect to the vanguard network, the vangard network stretches across the system so unless we are in a heavy darkness zone, you would be able to reach us” she nodded “I’d need to program it to remain hidden on the network and ensure the messages could only be read by our three ghosts, but we have to start with the radio”.

Mithrax nodded “misraaks can arrange for Skye” he looked amused “would not be hard, could build or take from guardians easily, then Skye do her work, will see, may need to go out and find”.

Skye smiled “sounds great, I can go with if you like”.

“Sounds good, would like to see Skye in action” he admitted “perhaps captain will come”.

“She absolutely will” Anne smiled. 

“Good, perhaps may show misraaks what her light can do” he chuckled.

“She won’t hesitate to do that, she is a bit of a show off of you allow her to be” Skye smiled before settling beside Anne looking to the child thoughtfully “what about you, decided on a name yet?”.

Anne took a moment before nodding “I kinda like kyraas” she admitted “and I think she owes her life to Mithrax in a sense, so I guess kyraas it is, perhaps I might give her a more normal name for the city but until I come up with a better one, I like it” she shrugged.

Mithrax put his knife away and got up to walk over and crouch “pup has name?”.

Anne nodded “I like kyraas” she mused “thank you Mithrax”.

“Ah, wonderful, kyraas, pup of anne” he looked thoughtful “when will pup be old enough to look after self?” He looked curious “very small for pup, slow to grow”.

Anne smiled “it will be a very long time before she can do anything by herself, human children grow very slowly”.

Skye nodded “it’s about two-three years before they can walk and talk properly, five before they can start learning formal education, they say it’s thirteen to fifteen years before they are considered adult” Skye looked curious “how long do eliksni take to mature?”.

Mithrax looked unsure “pup is weak for so long... how does survive... eliksni grow in few cycles, become dreg or if exceptional, may become vandal, starts to prove worth as soon as grown”.

Anne smiled “human children are cared for by their parents” she looked thoughtful “they survive because their parents look after them” she then looked unsure “honestly... I don’t know if I can look after this child... I am a guardian... once I recover... I will have no choice but to do my duties and I just don’t know how I will look after her” she looked guilty.

“Why did Anne choose such a path?” Mithrax asked curiously.

Anne chuckled “I didn’t choose, I was foolish and made a mistake, I just chose to own my mistake” she sighed.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “so pup is mistake? Anne ashamed of pup?”.

Anne blushed slightly “no, I uh, I’m not, I just.... I just don’t know what to do now” she admitted “i am proud of her...” she nodded “I carried her for nine months, you kinda get attached” she admitted “but it doesn’t change that I now have another life to look after and she isn’t as sturdy as I am” she bit her lip.

The captain looked to Anne before looking to the bundle in her arms “can Misraaks see pup?”.

Anne looked a little surprised “oh, uh, yeah... but first, ether in too high a concentrations can be toxic to us, and especially a newborn, I just have to make sure she isn’t in danger of getting sick”.

Mithrax nodded “perfectly safe” he promised, pointing to the tubes that connected to his helmet “contained, ether precious, cannot waste”.

Anne nodded and gently opened up the bundle a little revealing the sleeping baby, her skin a gentle pink violet. She had a tiny amount of dark purple fluff on her head with some faint lines marking her face, they were similar to the hunters own marks but different.

The captain leaned over to look at the baby curiously “young awoken have always been strange” he admitted “pup looks easy to break” he observed.

Anne chuckled "you aren’t wrong, newborns are precious but very delicate” she looked thoughtfully at the captain “would you like to hold her?”.

Mithrax looked unsure “Anne would trust pup with misraaks?”.

Anne nodded “of course, I owe you, kyraas exists because of your kindness” she smiled “had you killed me, she wouldn’t exist right now”.

The captain looked thoughtful before nodding “misraaks will hold then, curious to see what fuss is about” he admitted.

Anne chuckled “sit down and I’ll show you how to hold her properly” she smiled. The captain nodded and settled on his throne and Anne gently put the child in his lower arms, the captain was surprising gently. Mithrax settled comfortably in his chair and gently set a hand on top of the child supportively as she seemed to fuss momentarily before continuing to sleep innocently in the captain arms, unaware how dangerous her position was, Anne watched them both carefully.

It was a few minutes before the captain nodded “must admit, pup has charm” he chuckled. Compared to the captain, the child was tiny, resting between his hand and elbow easily, Mithrax could hold her effortlessly and still use his other three arms without a second thought. 

Skye was quietly awed by the sight “yes, she most certainly does” she agreed “it looks like she might like you” she smiled.

Mithrax looked thoughtfully to the child “will pup become guardian?”.

Anne sighed “that’s a complicated question... with what we know... she would have to die to become a guardian”.

“Not to mention, there are very few young guardians, most guardians are in their twenties to thirties when they are reborn in the light, so she would have to die after she reaches that age” Skye explained “it’s a long time and that’s without considering the possibility that she isn’t destined to die and become a guardian, not all dead become guardians”.

“Pup may not be guardian? Strange” Mithrax looked thoughtful before looking up as heavy steps entered the room, he instinctively held the child closer. Elsie walked into the room fully armoured and took her helmet off as she approached, she still looked quite moody. The captain looked amused “ah, captain returns, looks angry”.

Elsie sighed “I’m not angry, just annoyed” she muttered before looking a bit surprised at the bundle in the captains arms “you found a friend Mithrax”.

The captain nodded “indeed, Anne gave misraaks pup, surprisingly pleasant considering it’s weakness” he admitted.

Elsie chuckled “well I’m glad because I need to ask a favour” she turned more serious “I’m leaving the planet, I’m gonna give the guardians somewhere else to look” she sighed “they are getting uncomfortably close” she then looked at Anne “mind if I borrow your ship?”.

Skye stood and looked concerned “what? But what about?-“

Elsie shrugged “I’ll be fine... you should stay, I’ll be fine, but I’m just giving them another planet to search, I can’t risk them finding this place”.

Anne stood and walked over to pull the titan into a hug “you don’t have to do this, I can go back now”.

“Do you want to?” Elsie asked.

Anne looked uncomfortable “not really, but this is just too much, your going to get more than disciplined...” she looked guilty “not to mention you hate my ship...”.

Elsie nodded and put a hand on the hunters cheek “then yes I do need to do this, and I can deal” she smiled gently “Skye can stay and help you out, and I’ll be back when your either ready or there’s less pressure”.

“But if you get caught?” Skye asked with concern.

Elsie shrugged “what are they gonna do? Kill me?” She smiled “they aren’t getting answers out of me if I’m dead or alive, but I gotta go”.

Mithrax stood and approached “captain bold, Mithrax will help” he nodded and looked to skye “Skye, friend cause distraction with fallen”. He carefully offered the child to Anne “stay, might wake” he warned before waving Skye along and he moved to leave, elsie and Skye followed leaving Anne with a hug looking worried.

Once away from the room, Mithrax let out a loud battle cry and it was instant, fallen started swarming to receive orders and there was a flurry of activity. Once they reached the ships, elsie turned to skye “take my armour, I know it will be uncomfortable, but if you look like your part of the fallen, maybe you can help more” she offered her helmet.

Skye looked uncertain but nodded “ok, but you promise to take care right?”.

“Of course” elsie smiled “I’ll be fine” she promised and her armour changed so that she could transfer it to the warlocks inventory “you need to look after Anne for me, so just do your best and I’ll return when I can” she searched the warlock thoughtfully “I’ll see you on the flip side” the mused as she backed up and faded into light as sparks transmatted her inside the hunters ship and after a moment, it powered up for the first time in months before smoothly escaping the building and it was gone.

Skye swallowed hard but took a moment to let hope dress her in the Titans armour, she was surprised to see a new weapon and pulled it out to see the rather large captains rifle, she didn’t waste any time in catching up with Mithrax and within minutes, the three skiffs each full of their own sets of fallen forces, left quickly. 

Mithrax looked confused to see the titan briefly before Skye explained herself and he looked impressed. he then explained his plan, using the guardians own sensors against them. Skye explained that guardians paid attention to large movements of troops from any race, so they were going to give them something to look at by storming an area close enough to the tower to cause concern but not so close that they wouldn’t be able to get out alive and in the process, they would scavenge the parts to make skyes radio giving even more reason for the guardians to investigate. They had no idea if it would work but they hoped it would be enough. 

Once elsie was far enough away, she turned on her ships tracker briefly to make it look like an accident and made sure the guardians were aware of where she was, making it clear that she was moving further away from the city. She then disappeared once more using all the facilities Anne’s ship provided her with. 


	13. The end of the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If elsie is one thing, it's blunt and with her job complete, all that's left is for her fireteam to catch up with her.

It was a solid few weeks after the mess of leaving the settlement, elsie had not returned nor existed, not a word escaped her so the guardians nor the eliksni knew where she went but it would be impossible to hide forever and elsie found herself sitting in Anne’s ship waiting. Sparks had caught a guardians presence in the area and it was just a matter of time before she was found and she had bailed before but this time, the titan waited peacefully.

She heard the sound of guardians jump on the ship before it was opened and before long, there was a hand cannon at the titans throat, elsie however lounged comfortably and simply looked up with amusement “you know, your slow” she mused.

The titan faced a fellow titan “your under arrest” he replied, ignoring her.

Elsie chuckled “yeah yeah, I know how this works” she stood up and held her hands up “don’t worry, I can’t wait to see commander Zavala, you won’t get any trouble from me, but I will warn you, I don’t have a ghost” she smiled.

“Where’s your ghost?” The titan damanded, he motioned to move out of the ship.

Elsie shrugged “no idea, she didn’t like that I wasn’t behaving I suppose” she pulled herself out of the ship and immediately found herself forced into cuffs that blocked her light, she didn’t fight as she was dragged into a hawk.

“Search the area, find her ghost” ordered the titan and once elsie was chained up in the hawk, they did their best, however they could not find the ghost, while they felt uneasy after checking both the ship and the titans armour for sparks, they reluctantly sent Anne’s ship back to the tower before following suit and it was an awkward flight as they tried to get anything out of the titan, it was useless though as elsie either didn’t speak or talked about something irrelevant. 

Elsie wasn’t a big fan of hawk flights so she didn’t look the best by the time they reached the city but that didn’t stop her from being dragged in front of the vangard and she found herself face to face with a very angry looking Zavala. 

“Elsie, it’s good to see you” he muttered darkly “we need to talk”.

“Of course sir” elsie nodded.

“Where is your fireteam?” He asked, straight to the point “where is your ghost?”.

Elsie bit her lip thoughtfully “no idea, I’ve been on my own for weeks” she admitted before shrugging.

Zavala slammed his hands down on the table “you know that’s a lie!” He spat. 

Elsie chuckled “I’m sorry sir, but it’s true, believe me or not but who knows where they are? And as for sparks, I’m surprised she isn’t here already, she threw a tantrum when I decided to hang up on you sir”.

“Do you realise what is going to happen to you?” Zavala threatened.

“Ah, well I’ll probably be put under arrest until my fireteam turns up, or given disciplinary action, be stuck in the city for god knows how long and I’ll want to throw myself off the tower at the end of it, but as I said to you the first time, I’ll accept the punishment you give me” she promised “I’m a titan of my word” she assured. 

Zavala almost growled but the rooms attention turned to the door as Ikora entered the room to join Zavala “elsie, it’s good to see you well” she admitted looking a bit relieved.

Elsie gave her a smile “I’m fine” she assured “it’s been a nice vacation” she admitted.

Ikora nodded “I’m sure, now you must understand why your here?” She pulled out a chair to sit down “I implore you to tell us where your fireteam is, you must understand that we are concerned for their health” she looked hopeful “please”.

Elsie bit her lip before looking guilty “I’m sorry, but I can’t betray my fireteam, they will turn up when they are ready, until then, I have a duty to my fireteam, you have my deepest apologies however” she sighed “despite how it looks, I never wanted to make enemies of the vanguard but I’m sure you can understand loyalty to your fireteam”.

Ikora sighed “is there any point continuing this conversation then?” She asked.

“We aren’t finished-“ Zavala cut in before Ikora put a hand up to stop him. 

“Do you really think your going to get anything out of a titan who doesn’t want to speak, you should know better” she looked to Zavala “give it time”.

“We don’t have time!” He ordered.

Ikora looked to elsie “your fireteam, are they safe?”.

Elsie nodded “I wouldn’t leave if I had any inclination that they weren’t” she admitted “trust me, not a guardian on this earth is going to be able to reach them before they are ready” she promised. 

Ikora nodded “well I suppose that’s all we can do, but you are not off the hook, you will be put under arrest” she sighed “where is your ghost?”.

Elsie bit her lip “no idea... she left, she could be anywhere at this point” a flicker of worry showed through her features but she hid it well “she’s the one I’m worried about but there’s no chance of finding her” she sighed. 

“Why did she leave?” Ikora asked.

“We had a disagreement” elsie replied.

The warlock vanguard looked disappointed but it seemed like she was more than used too dealing with a titan “so be it, you are under arrest until further notice”. 

Zavala looked unhappy with letting the matter dropped but looked to the titans “disarm her and deliver her to a detainment room”. He ordered before turning back to the titan “if you feel like talking, then by all means, we can try this again”.

Elsie nodded “yes sir”.

At that, elsie was dragged into the detainment area of command and after being stripped of her armour and weapons, she was left in a simple room with just the basics, a bathroom and bedroom. The room cut her off from the light and she could feel it drain her light to a point where she couldn’t do anything but she settled on the bed with a tired sigh and resigned herself to her fate without complaint, she expected nothing less.

* * *

Sparks had escaped shortly after she had noticed the guardians in the edz, she had immediately gotten ready to move on only to be stopped by elsie who looked tired, she was mostly out of supplies and despite knowing what was waiting for her, she decided it was over, that she would give in. Sparks had wanted to stay but instead, elsie told her to head back to the others where she would be safe and so sparks found herself flying by herself through the the edz.

It had been a long time since she’d been on her own and it was uncomfortable being so alone. She had watched with painful guilt as elsie had been arrested and since she knew her guardian was safe, she finally started her trek back to the eliksni settlement. Despite the fact she could fly, she was a day or so away from the from the settlement so it was to be a long flight. 

Sparks had changed her shell to a more subtle one since usually, she had flashing neon lights on her shell, but now she had one covered with dark camouflage and she occasionally had to duck into the tree line to avoid being seen. Ghosts didn’t get tired like guardians but towards the end of the day, they did appreciate the chance to power down and as night set in, sparks decided to take cover so that her glowing eye was not so obvious as it became dark. 

The night passed peacefully however the morning was not so kind as she was caught leaving her hiding place and she couldn’t outrun a vandal who nimbly climbed through the trees and jumped out to catch her. Sparks looked on in fear as she found herself trapped and she was carried back to a large party of fallen which seemed to argue over what to do with her, she however ended up in the captains hand and she reluctantly powered down since there was nothing she could do. According to her clock, it was a few hours before she acknowledged a fuss happening around her; she couldn’t see much but she could tell there was a fight and she could only wait until she was traded between hands once more. 

She sensed a skiff and a lot of movement but everything was a bit of a blur until it all came to a stop and the captain she was being held by seemed to go somewhere quiet, there was a signal of a machine somewhere and another life but for the first time, she heard a growl followed by words “friend Skye... found gift from great machine”.

Sparks couldn’t speak, she could barely believe it but she heard the warlock reply with confusion “a ghost?”.

“Caught by eliksni, alone, not sure if dead” he replied and as his hand moved she felt his hand loosen.

Sparks used this opportunity to blink to life and phase further away and she saw exactly what she heard, Mithrax looked at her with surprise holding out an open palm and he stood next to a smaller captain, sparks however recognised Elsie’s armour anywhere “I made it...” she sighed with relief.

The smaller captain pulled off her helmet looking shocked “sparks?!”.

Sparks nodded and changed her shell back to her neon one “yes!” She floated over to circle the warlock happily “oh, I thought was a gonner, thank the traveler!!!” She nudged the warlock happily.

Skye chuckled and caught her gently “it’s good to see you too but where’s elsie sweety?”.

Mithrax looked confused “ghost of captain?”.

“Yes, this isn’t a good sign” she looked to the ghost with concern.

Sparks hesitated with guilt “we were running out of supplies and we were found to be caught... she told me to go so they couldn’t search my memory of this place... they got her”.

Skye bit her lip and teared up “was she ok?”.

Sparks nodded “she didn’t fight, she let them take her, they won’t hurt her if she doesn’t have me, surely but I watched then take her just to make sure” she looked worried “I was trying to make it back here but then a vandal caught me and I guess I was passed onto Mithrax”.

Skye looked to the captain gratefully “thank you for saving sparks”.

Mithrax crouched thoughtfully “did not know ghost belonged to captain, no light in eye, thought might have been dead, was taken from captain who thought was spy, glad is safe, but captain not?”.

Skye looked guilty “she is safe... but she is in trouble, the guardians will be very angry at her” she bit her lip “the only way to free her is to go back...”.

Sparks looked around to see where they were, currently they were in the middle of a field next to a large rounded metal machine with a large pole reaching up to the sky, she floated over to look at the machine curiously to discover it was a kind of radio and it was connected to the guardian network to boot, she looked excited “what is this?”.

Skye looked over to her “oh, it’s what I’m working on... so the eliksni can contact us at all times” 

“Can it be used to see what happened to elsie?” She asked hopefully.

Skye looked thoughtful and crouched down to start typing on a screen and after a moment she nodded “yeah, right here, elsie: code captain, under arrest until further notice” she looked guilty “she’s safe at least...” she muttered.

Sparks sighed looking depressed “I guess so...” she nodded.

“Well I’m finished here so let’s just go back...” Skye shook her head “she knew what she was doing” she sighed. Skye put her helmet back on and stood “you can stay with me sweety, we will figure this out, hope will be happy to see you” she offered her hand.

Sparks gave her a grateful smile and floated over to take refuge in the warlocks armour. Mithrax nodded and they walked back to a skiff that floated in wait and with a tall leap, the captain easily cleared the space, crawling into the ship, Skye followed but glided up gracefully instead and they headed off.

“What were you guys doing out here anyway?” Sparks asked.

“Well I’ve been adjusting the radio, it wasn’t quite working how i wanted it too so I had to give it a booster, but we were also heading out to restock” she admitted “you don’t mind coming along?”.

“No, can I help?” She replied.

“Well, you can help transfer things to the skiff if you like” Skye leaned against a wall “but otherwise, it’s just easy, we are taking from a city cache though so we could be met with resistance” she was quiet for a moment “I can’t believe they got her...” she murmured weakly.

“It was bound to happen” sparks sighed “I just wish I could have gone with her”.

“Why didn’t you?” Hope asked carefully.

“We were worried they might try and get into my memories to find you both, and we just couldn’t allow that to happen... I’m just glad I could make it back safely to you” sparks admitted “I thought it was over when I was captured”.

“Well don’t worry, I’m glad to see you and your safe, I’ll return you to elsie as soon as I can” Skye smiled gently “hopefully I’m not too boring” she sighed before straightening up at Mithrax approached.

“Guardians are in area, will friend go down first?” He asked.

Skye nodded and after a moment saluted “this ones for elsie” she sighed.

“I follow skye” he assured.

Skye turned to leave before stopping as sparks spoke in her ear before she nodded and the neon ghost appeared to float over to Mithrax “can I stay with you? I might be able to help strengthen your shields and maybe heal you if I can figure it out”.

Mithrax looked unsure “ghost can help misraaks?”.

Sparks nodded “if you don’t mind me hiding in your armour, yeah”.

The captain looked thoughtful “sure, misraaks protect ghost”

“Great! I’ll try and be quiet, I promise” she looked happy and floated over to enter the captains armour and Skye watch curiously as the captains shield glowed stronger.

Mithrax looked surprised at the light surrounding him, it felt different to his normal shielding. “ah, feeling of light?”.

“Yeah, I’m sharing my light with you, not properly, but I can at least help block some damage” sparks explained making the captain bring a hand to his ear curiously as it confused him to hear the ghost in his ear.

Skye looked thoughtful “if I was to give you any advice, just focus on what your doing, sparks will do her own thing without you having to do anything, your the closest your ever going to get to being a guardian” she smiled before turning and leaving to escape the ship.

Mithrax looked excited at the thought “it’s a wonder guardians aren’t treated as if mad” he mused earning a quiet laugh from sparks. 

Over the time elsie had been out and about confusing the guardians, Skye had mostly taken over her role, while she didn’t have the strength to match, she was able to use her own skills to help instead and she would never admit it but giving into her more beastial side was satisfying in a way. She had mastered the art of looking fallen and as long as she didn’t fight for too long, the titans armour wasn’t as tiring as it looked so she made an effort to make it quick.

She didn’t hesitate drop down from the ship, slowing her decent slightly to make the drop more comfortable, but she landed alone. Hope did a scan and the codes of the guardians in the area lit up in the distance and as expected, they were heading her way. She pulled out her captains rifle before raising it up and she let out a fallen cry before heading towards them and it was barely a minute before the first guardian approached and started firing at her. Skye dodged most of the shots before ducking down in a sprint with a bit of help with Elsie’s boost and she found herself in front of a hunter.

The hunter reacted quickly, swinging a knife in her direction but it bounced off her shield and Skye brought an arc covered fist to the hunters throat sending the hunter backwards with a stagger and she didn’t hesitate to step on the hunter ruthlessly to aim her rifle, she missed as she was staggered by a titan on her side and she quickly blinked out of the way of a shoulder charge with a growl.

Skye backed up carefully looking indecisive as she was about to be over powered so with a moment, she started spiriting off away from the skiff in the hope that they would follow and it worked. She used the cover of her cloak to pull out one of her shock blades before turning and sliding it behind her aggressively as arc crackled up the blade dangerously and the titan ran straight into the attack, staggering with surprise. Skye took a second to try and find the hunter but she felt a heavy sniper shot hit her shoulder making her flinch and it was long enough for the titan to land a heavy punch to the chest and the warlock fell over with a pained gasp. 

She struggled to her hands and knees and this was where she fell short, she didn’t have the quick recovery of elsie and she knew it was over as the titan kicked her over again to and kept her on the ground. The hunter was quick to catch up seeing the captain was now overwhelmed. Skye could barely think but after a moment, she noticed the shallow water she laid in, she slammed her hand into the shallow water and focused her arc. with an explosive crack of lightning, the titan seized up with shock and collapsed with a shudder. Skye took the opportunity to get up with an angry growl, retrieving her sword and she stabbed it into the titans body brutally to finish him off before turning to face the hunter who looked on with shock. 

The hunter however recovered quickly and pulled out a hand cannon and started firing and his aim was spot on. Despite her best efforts, Skye dropped to her knees before falling into sleep, large wounds in her head. 

The hunter waited until he was sure the captain was dead before walking over to check on the the titan and after a moment, the titan gasped to life and pulled himself to his feet with an angry grumble. 

“What in the hell was that captain?!” He spat angrily before mining over to skye to kick her onto her back before crouching “that arc was so much stronger than it should have been”.

The hunter looked confused “it was kinda clumsy for a captain” the hunter agreed “but it looks like it’s been docked or something...”

The titan nodded before looking confused “wait.. this captain only has two arms... it looks like it’s never had four...” he looked uncertain “in fact... is that tangled shore armour?”.

The hunter looked suspious and pulled out his knife to crouch down and get a better look “I don’t think this is a captain...”

They didn’t notice the real captain sneaking up on them until the titan looked towards the hunter and Mithrax towered above them with an agressive growl and with a heavy stab, he thrust his sword through the hunters shoulder and chest, instantly killing it.

The titan jumped back with horror and Mithrax retrieved his sword before kicking the hunter aside and he took off at a sprint to follow, keeping the titan on the run, it was long enough for the warlock to gasp back to life and she got up with a pained groan “I don’t know how she does this” Skye sighed to herself.

As she got up, she took a second to lean on her sword and the hunter beside her gasped back to life before looking surprised the captain was standing, he didn’t waste any time to stand. Skye turned to face him with a low growl and lifted her sword threateningly. The hunter responded by pulling out two daggers and so begin an intense fight between the two which the warlock slowly lost. 

With a final blow, the hunter put his force into the warlock and threw her against a tree before grabbing the captains helmet and tearing it off her head revealing the women women and he backed up with shock. 

“Your not fallen...”. He spat.

“Very observant” Skye replied breathlessly “you want to see another trick?” She hopped into the air as the air became static around her before a loud crack broke the quiet and arc lightning surrounded her before she threw her hands toward the hunter, directing the lightning. The hunter let out a pained cry briefly before his form faded in cracking lightning and Skye was left breathless, she picked her helmet up and put it on again before letting her arc go out and she moved towards Mithrax. 

Mithrax didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping the titan on the run but As he noticed the warlocks approach with confusion he seemed to decide that it was time to pull out his ace and solar light burst around him. Mithrax immediately pulled back warily as a large two handed hammer was forged in his hands and seeing this Skye panicked, despite being tired, she called the lightning once more before this time, twisting her hands as she threw it towards the titan in a thick deadly laser of arc. The titan could barely react looking shocked before he disappeared into arc light and Skye landed with a stagger “shit... is the eliksni done?” She muttered breathlessly.

Mithrax looked on with surprise at the warlocks actions before moving over to pick up the warlock “leave before guardians come back” he suggested “eliksni got what can” he moved into a sprint and despite carrying the warlock, he was unaffected by her size and with a large bound, landed smoothly in the skiff waiting for them. As they looked down at the ground, the guardians seemed to be getting up but they simply watched them go with uncertainty and the eliksni cloaked before soaring off. 

Once they were safe, Mithrax moved back into the ship with a chuckle and set Skye down “well done skye, impressive fight, can make captain yet” he mused.

Skye smiled and her armour glowed in places where hope repaired the various pieces of damaged armour “I tried my best anyway... I’m in so much shit when I get back to the tower...” she looked thoughtful “did you get hurt? I got worried when he tried using his super” she admitted.

“Misraaks fine, ghost quite impressive” he mused before feeling is shoulder thoughtfully “keep getting surprised by guardians and their powers” he admitted, as they reached the control room, he looked to the leading eliksni and started asking questions, after a few minutes, he looked impressed. Skye had settled on the floor and rested against the wall tiredly and Mithrax settled beside her “crew got everything we needed, distraction was good”.

Skye looked pleased “your crew is impressive, I’m not nearly as great at wasting time as elsie but I’m glad I could do what I did... although using my super is going to get me into deep trouble... one of them saw me” she sighed and looked defeated.

“Skye stay with eliksni” he offered “protect Skye, earned her place in house”. 

The warlock looked torn “I almost would” she admitted “but I can’t, I can’t let elsie stay in confinement forever and she won’t be released until she either tells the vangard where we are, or we come home... and I know her, she won’t tell them anything, she will suffer in silence for us” she sighed with guilt.

“So should tell Anne about captain?” Mithrax asked.

Skye bit her lip thoughtfully “well as soon as she sees sparks, she will probably know, there’s no other reason elsie would ever separate from her ghost...” she nodded.

Sparks appeared beside Mithrax looking pleased “I hear the gossip” sparks teased playfully before sighing “it’s true though... she may be stubborn and stupid sometimes, but it’s lonely without her... I’ve never been away from her this long since since before she existed in the first place” she looked to Mithrax “I’d never noticed how much you fight like her” she admitted “no wonder you like her... thank you”.

Mithrax nodded “spark pleasant” he admitted and after a moment held out a hand, sparks settled into his palm gently “strange gift, but curious” he chuckled as he held her gently “what will do without captain?”.

The ghost looked defeated “wait I guess, there’s nothing else I can do... I will return to the tower with Anne and Skye when they eventually feel the need to do so, I’ll probably get bored” she sighed.

Skye looked to the two thoughtfully “hopefully it won’t be too long but until then, it looks like you found a friend so maybe it won’t be so bad” she looked hopeful.

Sparks nodded looked thoughtfully to Mithrax “I suppose so”.

After making sure they weren’t followed, it was an hours flight back to the settlement and with the addition of sparks who eventually ended up with Skye, they arrived in a pretty good mood despite some guilty worry about elsie, they were just glad that they knew she wouldn’t be killed without her ghost, the vanguard despite their likely anger was not that barbaric. Anne greeted them happily as she lounged in the throne room with her sleeping child. 

Skye waited to take off her helmet looking unsure and Anne looked her up and down playfully “you look like you’ve gotten comfortable” she teased.

Skye chuckled “well, it’s heavier than I’m used too, but as long as I don’t wear it too long, it’s surprisingly comfortable” she eyed the armour thoughtfully “it’s weird” she admitted “you get used to it in a way” she settled down beside Anne with a sigh “I have something to tell you” she muttered as she took her helmet off.

Anne looked unsure before worry took over “what’s wrong...”

Skye looked guilty before looking to Anne “they caught her, elsie is in confinement at the tower... and it’s a long story but we found sparks today” the ghost appeared on command at the warlocks shoulder.

Anne looked surprised before moving to upset “what? How? And why aren’t you with her, what if something happened?” Anne sat up carefully as she teared up “you both are ok right?” She looked to sparks.

Sparks nodded “yeah, I was caught by eliksni, they thought I might have been a spy but I’m fine... and somehow I made it to Mithrax and Skye” she sighed “I guess I’m lucky I’m friends with the kell... elsie waited for the guardians to come peacefully, we were spotted and since she was running low on supplies so she just let them take her because she was tired” she looked guilty “she told me to leave while I could so I wiped your ships history before hiding and I watched them arrest her... they won’t kill her without me... I hope, so she’s safe... just under arrest”.

Anne teared up looking guilty “they aren’t going to let her go are they...”.

“No... not until you both return” sparks replied “but you don’t have to go back until your ready, that’s why I’m here... Elsie will be fine, you know she will... she’s stubborn like that”.

Skye nodded “she has a point, they will look after her” she bit her lip “I’m more worried about the fact I was seen today” she admitted.

Anne looked concerned “are you ok?”.

Skye nodded “yeah, I’m just not as strong a fighter as elsie, I can’t do what she does nearly as well”. She sighed and stood so hope could change her armour to her more comfortable robes but she kept the cloak on and settled once more “I’m lucky I’m wearing the house of dusk colours rather than the house of light, hopefully that’s enough to throw them off”.

Anne looked torn “I should go back...” she eyed her child weakly “but I don’t know what to do yet...”.

Skye gave the hunter a gentle hug “take your time, we are safe here and she might be bored, but at least Elsie will be safe until your ready...”. Anne nodded but still seemed uncertain.

The biggest problem was that while Anne adored her child, she knew that going back meant she would potentially not be able to keep her, and the thought of losing the child was scary, she could accept everything but losing the child to someone else was the one thing she feared. They were worried however that news of skyes alliance with the eliksni would spread through the tower and make them start searching for the house they were part of so they finally decided to return to the tower.


	14. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does the vanguard deal with such a stubborn fireteam and how much does elsie greet her fireteam after so long.

anne waited a few weeks before finally she could bring herself to face the music and they found themselves in front of Mithrax. The captain eyed them thoughtfully “Anne leaving for tower?... what of guardians safety” he asked carefully “already took captain, threat to Anne and pup?”.

The hunter looked nervous “I don’t think so, and I certainly won’t let anyone threaten either of us” she sighed before approaching the captain and with her child in her arms, she kneeled “I just wanted to give you my thanks, I owe my child’s life to you and for that, you have my undying loyalty” she pulled out her knife and offered it “please, if I can ever help in anyway, I will do anything in my power” she sighed “I just won’t be able to do much for a few months at least”.

Mithrax took the knife with a nod “hunters knives nasty, strong, I look forward to see Anne’s strength one day” he mused “misraaks found friend in guardian and house light is safe for guardians, offers friendship, perhaps will see again soon” he eyed the child thoughtfully “can misraaks see pup?”.

Anne stood and nodded, gently heading the child to the captain, she stirred sleepily at the movement and looked vaguely at the captain with interest with glowing eyes. Mithrax chuckled and took a moment to hold her before he pulled out a rough cloth with the mark of house light on it. With care, he wrapped it around the child “this pup was born in house light, may not be eliksni, but will always find alliance in house light” he assured “kyraas, the name will stand for something greater, hope for friendship with guardians”. He gently gave the child back “fly safe guardians.

Anne resisted tears and gave the captain a hug “thank you”. She then moved to stand near Skye.

Skye herself looked thoughtful “once I get a chance, I will come back and I know elsie will too, but until then, thank you” she nodded respectfully.

Mithrax stood “misraaks take to ship, see friends off” he assured “have done great service for house light, look forward to working together again”.

The walk felt shorter than it should of been and after a few more words, they reluctantly hopped into Elsie’s ship and took off. It was quiet for the first few minutes despite some uncomfortable fuss from kyraas. Once they were far enough away from the settlement, they turned on their tracker and the affect was immediate, as they approached the city, they were met by two ships that fell into flight beside them, Anne put her armour on properly for the first time in a few months and carefully hid the fallen cloth on her person so it wasn’t too obvious where their alliegences had laid for the past few months. 

“Call her kyra for short, if the name sounds too eliksni, they might be suspious” Anne finally muttered.

Skye nodded “sure, hopefully that’s the least of our problems” she admitted. 

Anne chuckled “I know right?”.

It was tense as they came in for a landing and the bay was occupied by a group of guardians in wait, they must have known they had the child because they didn’t force their way into the ship, they waited for the guardians to leave and Skye was immediately captured on leaving, she looked extremely uncomfortable but didn’t fight. Anne herself glared daggers at the waiting guardians and pulled out her knife defensively stating her intention if anyone touched her or her child, she promised to behave if left alone however so they were led to the vanguard situation room. There was a deep sense of dread that had settled into the guardians gut as they were greeted by a moody looking vanguard.

“So you finally return” Zavala noted with irritation “I trust both mother and child is well...” he asked.

Anne gave a nod “yes sir”, Tension was thick in the air.

Ikora stood to walk over to skye and she freed the warlock from her helmet revealing her worry and fear “and Arctic, I have heard some troubling rumours about you” she sighed “how are you?”.

Skye was still being held by two titans but gave a nod “I am fine, however my concern is not for me” she looked at Anne with worry.

Ikora looked thoughtful and set the warlocks helmet down on the table “of course...” she nodded “I must admire the strength of Will from your fireteam” she admitted “your titan, elsie was captured three weeks ago, but I’m sure you knew that already” she looked to the two guardians “she refuses to speak a word about were you were, her choice to leave her ghost was admirable and all of this of course was for both of your protection” she sighed “your fireteam is one of the strongest I’ve seen in years” she admitted “you may take that as a compliment”.

Anne looked worried “elsie is fine right? None of this is her fault, the fault lies with me completely”.

Zavala nodded “elsie is fine, bored and unbreakable but fine...” he looked frustrated “however I expect some answers unless you wish to join her, we have heard some disturbing rumours”.

Ikora nodded “I’ve had reports of a guardians that have been dressing as fallen... a titan named elsie and lastly, a warlock going by arctic” she looked to skye “I want the truth skye”.

Skye looked uncomfortable “it’s true” she replied simply.

“I assume the reports of you killing two guardians is equally as true” she looked at the warlock expectantly “explain”.

Skye took a deep breath “it’s true...” she replied “you wouldn’t believe me if I told you however”.

“Explain” Zavala growled.

Skye looked at Anne anxiously “to protect Anne and her child, I had no choice, we needed supplies so I did what I needed to do, I couldn’t be seen so I hid my identity to get what I needed, elsie wasn’t there anymore to help”.

“Why didn’t you just return to the tower?” Asked Zavala with annoyance.

“Because I wasn’t ready” Anne muttered “it was all for me”.

Zavala straightened up “your fireteam did all this because you were selfish?” He continued.

Anne nodded “I left without telling them anything and I refused to return when elsie found me” she looked the vanguard in the eye “I made my decision and if you punish anyone, then I’m the one to blame” she clutched her child tighter subtly.

Ikora eyed the two thoughtfully “I received reports stating that they saw Skye helping a fallen captain named Mithrax, is this also true?”. Skye nodded in silence and Ikora looked unsure “where have you been hiding for your presence to be hidden so well?”.

The two were quiet but Skye finally spoke “I did assist Mithrax in a raid... but it was out of necessity” she looked to the two “I cannot speak about this” she muttered “this is as much as I can tell you without more privacy”. Anne nodded in agreement.

Ikora looked thoughtful “there’s nothing else you can tell me?”. 

Skye shook her head “no, my apologies”.

Zavala looked annoyed but seemed to move onto the next topic “do you know where elsies ghost is? We are concerned for her well being”.

Skye nodded and sparks shyly appeared at the warlocks shoulder “I’m here...”.

At this the two vanguard looked relieved “sparks is it?” Ikora asked.

“Yes mame” sparks nodded.

“Why didn’t you stay with your guardian?” Ikora asked.

“To protect my fireteam” sparks replied “I knew she would be safe at the tower... so I let her be arrested on her own” she looked guilty.

“But what about you?” Zavala pointed out “it is unsafe for you to be alone out in the wilds”.

“I returned to my fireteam for safety” sparks assured. 

After a long moment of thought, Ikora nodded “I admire your will... for now, you all will put under arrest until we get some answers, put Skye with the titan, captain”.

Zavala looked to the child and Anne looked scared “you won’t take her will you? I will fight you... I won’t let you take her...” she threatened quickly.

“No, the child will stay with you” he assured “you however, will be put under house arrest, I understand that you have responsibilities...” he looked to the hunter “but I will inform you, any attempt to leave and you will be forcibly removed from your child and you will be put into confinement with your fireteam... anything you need will be provided for you” the words were heavy with threat and Anne nodded.

He gave the guards a nod and the two were led out. They were split up as Anne was taken to her residence while Skye was dragged to confinement. Confinement was a prison like area and they took her first to a room that she could be unarmed and dearmoured before continuing. They took her past various cells before stopping in front of one that was occupied by a familiar titan. She was doing push ups and looked up to the sound of movement. On seeing the guards, she got to her feet and backed up with her hands up. And as they opened the door, Skye entered as she was told too. 

The titans left just as quickly as they came and elsie let out a happy squeak before rushing to pull the warlock into a tight hug “your ok! Is Anne ok? Are you both here?”.

Skye blushed with surprise but hugged back tightly “we are both here... I’m ok, but you, I was so worried, when I heard...” she teared up “and then sparks turned up and I thought... how are you?”. 

“Sparks made it? I’m so happy to hear” she smiled. The titan looked tired but physically fine and on being mentioned both hope and sparks made themselves visible after staying close to the warlock for protection. The titan pulled away to catch sparks with relief and give her a hug too.

“I got caught by fallen, but good fallen so I made it to Mithrax!” Sparks explained happily “I missed you...” she muttered weakly “it’s so boring without you, let’s not do this again”.

Elsie laughed and sat down on her bed looking tearful “oh don’t worry, we aren’t doing this ever again, I promise, your staying with me” she chuckled and let the ghost go happily.

Skye sat down beside the titan “have you been here all this time?” She asked.

Elsie nodded “traveller knows how long I’ve been here but yeah... the walls were getting pretty boring” she admitted “it’s tough not having anyone to talk to too” she nodded.

“I’m so sorry” Skye muttered weakly “I wanted to come back sooner but Anne wasn’t ready...”

Elsie shook her head “I’m not worried” she promised “I’m just glad to know you guys are fine...” she shifted to face Skye “tell me everything, I’m incredibly bored” she smiled.

Skye nodded and spent the next few hours catching the titan up. It was clear her time in solitary had left her quite lonely and stressed but by the end, the titan looked exhausted as she found herself relaxing for likely the first time in weeks and Skye wasn’t far behind her.

With a bit of awkwardness, elsie insisted that the warlock should rest too so they found themselves sharing the bed and they let sleep take them, their ghosts powering down not far away from their guardians. 

It was uncertain how much time had passed when Skye stirred and she immediately noticed that in their sleep, she had ended up in the titans arms causing her to blush deeply. she didn’t move because she didn’t want to wake the sleeping giant but she found herself enjoying the sensation, blushing deeper as the titan squeezed her lovingly in her sleep. The warlock was going to get up but she instead chose to go back to sleep feeling comforted by the titans hold. 

The next time skye woke, she hadn’t moved far at all and she was still being cuddled but as she woke up with a yawn, she felt the titan let her go “Ah, sorry... it’s a habit...” elsie muttered shyly.

Skye blushed and shook her head “it’s ok, I see why Anne was so comfortable with you...” she murmured.

“I have been told I’m great to cuddle with” elsie joked as she got up, and stretched before looking awkward “uh, I know you’ve only just woken up but I wanted to talk to you” she looked fidgety and started pacing “I’ll apologise now, I’ve been here for traveller knows how long I haven’t had anything else to think about and decided that next I saw you I’d mention it” she blushed a bit, speaking quickly “but I want to maybe try it out... with you... because if there’s something all this has taught me, it sucks to be alone and I think it might be cool to try and be with you” she ended up dropping to her knees beside the bed looking hopeful and nervous “can you tell I’ve had too much time to think?” She chuckled weakly.

Skye looked at her blankly in a sleepy haze of confusion and shy embarrassment, she could barely catch half of what the titan had said in her anxious chatter “remind me to never let you part with sparks...” Skye mumbled “uh, so you want to... go out with me?”.

Elsie nodded”I mean you don’t have too, I just kept thinking that when I eventually got out of here, I want to go for drinks or dinner with you and sparks wasn’t there to tell me it was a bad idea...” she blushed before getting up and pacing anxiously again “Ah, smooth...” she muttered to herself in annoyance.

Sparks floated over to get in front of the titan and she stopped “hey, you did good” she encouraged before nudging her cheek supportively.

Elsie caught the ghost gratefully and cuddled her “you know I missed you right? I think I’m going crazy” she murmured quietly.

“You were already crazy” sparks promised with amusement “but I missed you too”.

Skye sat up looking thoughtful “you know, I didn’t believe it when Anne said that you could be this cute...” she admitted before blushing “who could say no to that, I’d love to go out with you” she gave a small smile “as soon as we are out of confinement”.

Elsie loooked excited and moved over to give her a tight hug “your the best” she smiled brightly “I have the prefect place, it’s a surprise though”.

Skye laughed happily and hugged her back “I’ll let you handle it” she mused “I can’t wait” she smiled “come relax with with me, your making me anxious” she mused.

“Sorry, mild side affect of being alone too long for the first time in 40 odd years” elsie muttered, but she did as she was told and sat down to face the warlock “I’m sorry your trapped in here with me” she sighed “hopefully we can get out of here soon...” 

The warlock shifted to lay down and invited the titan to lay down beside her “Let’s just not think about it for now”.

Elsie laid down with a sigh “I just want out of here” she muttered before gazing at the warlock “it won’t be too long do you think?”.

Skye looked unsure “I don’t know, but I promise I won’t let you go crazy alone” she smiled and shifted to cuddle up to the titan.

Elsie gave a small smile and pulled her into a hug “thank you”.

Skye let out a relaxed sigh “so what did you do to keep yourself busy anyway?” She asked.

Elsie chuckled “well, I worked out mostly, did pushups, things like that, I don’t normally need too but boredom has a way of making even excersise sound good” she smiled “at one point they did give me a tablet to watch some crucible, but I think they were worried I’d find a way to talk to you guys” she admitted “I mean of course I can’t, Sparks does all that fancy stuff for me”.

Skye looked playful “is that why you look better then usual?” She teased making the titan laugh with a blush.

“Possibly” she smiled “you know I heard some rumours of a rogue warlock... was that you by chance?” She asked.

Skye looked coy “oh, me? No, I’m innocent” she smiled before leaning in “titan armour is kinda comfy once you get used to it”.

Elsie laughed and shifted to lay on her back but continued holding the warlock with one arm “oh, well I can get you some if you want it, I’m sad I missed the veiw” she replied playfully.

“I’ll show you one day” skye promised.

“Oh, you can’t be teasing me here like that” elsie complained “that’s unfair, it’s hard enough to behave” she smiled.

Skye blushed slightly before looking indecisive “you know Anne told me something else” she shifted to top the titan playfully on her hands and knees and the affect was immediate, the titan turned instantly shy and red and she struggled to get a word out.

“That’s unfair...” she finally whispered avoiding the warlocks gaze.

Skye looked a bit surprised and blushed “she wasn’t kidding... your ridiculously cute” she murmured “I was just curious, I’m sorry” she settled at the titans side once more “I didn’t know you could be so cute” she teased.

“Don’t tell anyone, I have a rep to keep” she muttered with embarrassment. 

Skye nodded “of course” she mused before she let her gaze wander over the titans form, the jump suit was naturally very tight fitting as it acted as a way to control how warm or cold a guardian was, not to mention, keep a guardian from having problems from rubbing armour plates and other things. It meant that the jumpsuit had to be relatively thin but strong enough to last as well as small enough to wear under leathers and plates. 

It Meant that if you really looked, you could see everything accept a guardians assets which were more covered but not by much. Skye couldn’t help but admire the titans form and she absentmindedly started tracing her hands down the titans stomach with admiration. 

Elsie didn’t mind but after a moment, she let out a pleasured breath “you know your going to get yourself into trouble one day..” she smiled.

Skye snapped back with a deep blush “I’m sorry... I have a habit of... I’m sorry” she looked embarrassed.

Elsie chuckled “I know, your a warlock, I’d expect nothing less”.

Skye looked unsure “what? What do you mean by that?” She asked innocently.

Elsie sighed and shifted to face her “as a general rule, warlocks are curious, they like touching and experimenting at the best of times” she smiled “and I’ve litterally watched you touch things you shouldn’t just because it’s new” she teased “you tend to space out and just do things without thinking, and I’ve always found it adorable” she admitted with a blush. 

Skye gave a coy smile “did you always watch me so closely?”.

Elsie looked unsure how to answer “well, I quickly learnt that the best way to work with you was to not bother you unless you needed me, and I learnt that because you would space out and forget I was there” she smiled playfully “you may enjoy not taking charge, but I often let you take over because it’s easier, I just do what I’m told, it’s fighting usually”.

Skye looked confused before blushing harder “I didn’t even realise...”.

“And I noticed that before I liked you” elsie shrugged “I do similar with Anne, you can’t force much with Anne, she likes flexibility, she can change a plan on the fly and I have to keep up, but it’s easy, it took a long time for her to accept help at all though and occasionally, she can’t be bothered doing the thinking so I take over and she just does as she is told in her own way” she nodded “she claims that I’m the easiest titan she’s ever had to work with”.

Skye looked at the titan with admiration “your a lot more intelligent than you say you know”.

Elsie chuckled “I don’t think so, I can just adapt to people really well” she looked thoughtfully to the warlock before letting her own gaze wonder “I’ve been in here much too long” she sighed looking defeated.

Skye smiled “what’s wrong?”.

“Frankly” she bit her lip “I would fuck you stupid in a heartbeat if I wasn’t doing my best to behave” she muttered, a hungry edge rested on her words “who knows who’s watching” she sighed.

Skye blushed deeply “I’m sorry...”.

“You can’t help being the most attractive person in the room” elsie smiled playfully “not that it’s a hard competition to win right now...” she shrugged “you’d still win even if there were others here though... I have thing for awoken” she mused.

Skye chuckled shyly “you have a certain way with words...” she smiled.

“A lot of people find honesty attractive” elsie smiled before leaning in and lowering her voice “if I was really trying, not to brag but I’m pretty good at getting what I want”. Her voice was heavy with suggestion and she gently pulled Skye closer and ran her fingers up her back sensually making the warlock shiver breathlessly, totally captured by the titans lust.

Skye found herself unable to move and she couldn’t string together a sentence as her heart beat a thousand miles an hour, and all elsie had to do was lean in to steal a kiss for Skye to respond without complaint. The titan held the kiss hungrily before topping the warlock smoothly and her hand playfully wandered up the warlocks chest making Skye blush deeper with a whimper.

When they finally broke apart, Skye looked hungry and elsie just gave a playful smile before starting to nuzzle her lovingly, pressing kisses and loving bites down her neck and shoulder making Skye let out breathless gasps. Elsie then returned to a hungry make out session and Skye was hopelessly lost in the attention. 

They were broken apart by a loud knock and they separated with embarrassment “I’m sorry” elsie muttered quickly.

Skye giggled breathlessly “it’s ok” she promised. 

After a good minute, the door was opened carefully and Ikora stood there looking a bit uncomfortable “sorry to interrupt, but the vanguard would like to speak to both of you”.

Elsie gave a lazy salute still looking flushed “yes mame, where?”.

“I’ll have you both escorted to the questioning room, do you need a moment?” She cleared her throat but the question was clear.

“That would be appreciated if you have the time” elsie admitted.

Ikora nodded “knock when your ready” she gave a small smile as she left and shut the door, presumably waiting down the hall”.

Skye broke into an embarrassed laugh “oh my god elsie” she got up and cleared her throat “that was... nice... but we probably shouldn’t” she moved to the bathroom and washed her face trying to calm down.

Elsie looked apologetic “my bad, I uh, wasn’t meaning to... I was just supposed to tease you” she admitted with a playful smile.

Skye smiled and took some deep breaths “what must Ikora think...? Oh no...” she bit her lip , she felt bad but she didn’t at the same time.

Elsie got up to briefly freshen herself up as well “I’m sorry... I swear, it’s the room making me this crazy...” she sighed.

“No it’s not, not this time” sparks muttered, appearing beside her “that was all you”.

Skye laughed and pulled the titan into a hug “it’s ok anyway; it was fun” she pressed a kiss to the titans cheek “I just realised how dangerous you are, that’s all” she smiled. 

After a few minutes to cool down, they let Ikora know and the vanguard returned to the door “I trust that neither of you are going to resist my orders?”.

The two guardians shook their heads “no, we are in enough trouble, I want to get out of here at some point” elsie replied, Skye seemed to agree with the sentiment.

“Then I won’t bother cuffing you, we aren’t going too far” she smiled “follow” she ordered gently and she begun to lead the way. They really only went up a few hallways to reach a questioning room with a table and four chairs around it, Ikora invited the guardians to sit before seating herself “Zavala won’t be long” she informed.

“Ah, yes, is he still mad at me?” Elsie asked.

Ikora sighed “mostly, but it will pass eventually” she gave the two a small smile “perhaps we should separate you two however, I must apologise for the time it has taken to speak with you, we had intended to speak with you yesterday but a situation came up... for now, unless there are any objections, you can stay in the same cell, just say so if you would like more... space...”.

The two blushed “ah, I’m not fused” elsie muttered “as long as sparks can stay with me, I don’t care if I have to share with Skye or not”.

Skye nodded “I feel the same, I’m not bothered... it was nice to catch up after being so worried about her” she admitted. 

“So be it” Ikora nodded “for politeness, just remember there is a camera for security purposes” she cleared her throat “but it is none of my business what you both wish to do” a large book appeared in her hands and and she set it on the table, preparing it so that she can take notes “now, before we begin, this conversation will be recorded but will remain private vangard property, anything said here is in private confidence so I ask for the whole truth regardless of how it sounds. Your actions will be judged on truth alone” she scribbled down some notes thoughtfully before looking to the guardians expectantly.

“Yes mame” elsie nodded.

“Of course” Skye agreed.

Ikora looked pleased and waited quietly as she wrote down the occasional note. It was a few minutes before Zavala entered the room and locked the door behind him. He settled in the last chair with a sigh “I trust Ikora has explained our expectations?”. At the two guardians nods, the commander begun. 

“Let’s start with why Anne left in the first place, did either of you have any part in her choice?” Zavala asked.

The two shook their head “I was the one who discovered that Anne had left in the first place... I went over to check on her because she’d been quiet for a few days and all I found was a note” she sighed “all I know is that she left because she felt uncomfortable in the tower and Anne has always just done what she wants” elsie admitted “I guess she’d had enough of the stares, I remember her complaining that she felt as if the whole tower was staring at her every time she walked through it”.

Skye nodded “Anne has always hated being the centre of attention, thinking about it, I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did”.

Ikora took a few notes looking thoughtful “I suppose I cannot judge her too harshly for her thoughts, I can only imagine how uncomfortable that position would be... not that it makes a difference” she nodded “so you truly had no contact with her after that?”.

“It was about two months before I found her by accident and it was my ghost who found her” elsie continued.

Ikora flicked flicked through her book to pull out a bundle of papers “I have a report from Amanda that you left the tower late to find Anne, you then proceeded to not return for three days without reporting the reason to the tower, please explain” she looked thoughtful “I have reason to believe that you didn’t not speak entirely truthfully when you said you could not find Anne, you spoke of a hive infestation” she looked to the titan expectantly.

Elsie sighed “it’s not entirely untrue” she admitted “I did find Anne however, I chose to hide this fact but the hive infestation was believe it or not, true” she looked to skye thoughtfully before turning her attention back to the vanguard “I managed to track Anne down early that next day, however, I was... surprised... when I found her, I was originally concerned that she had been captured by fallen and I was worried for her safety”.

Zavala looked thoughtful “what do you mean by that”.

Sparks floated forward “here, I have a recording of what I found” she replied and after a moment, she played the translated recording which started the titans search.

“It does sound like she was captured by fallen” Ikora agreed “so was she?”.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “look, this part is going to sound bad, but there’s a reason I didn’t voice this... I was concerned that the guardians would insist on taking anne by force and she would fight the guardians. then I feared the guardians would kill the fallen and risk Anne’s life but the recording was worrying”.

“Why would you be concerned about the fallen?” Ikora asked carefully.

“I misunderstood the situation, I was under the impression that Anne was a prisoner of the fallen, but she wasn’t, when I tracked her down, I discovered the fallen were protecting her from me” elsie sighed “admittedly, I did not make the smartest play, I lost focus and attempted to fight my way to Anne, I was killed almost instantly”.

Zavala looked concerned and confused “you say they were protecting Anne? Why would they do that?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “I was told that Anne was camping nearby and she was hunted down by the fallen, Anne lost the fight, however she wasn’t killed because by this point, she was about seven months along. she just couldn’t fight off a whole crew of fallen by herself, and so the captain took pity on her and offered a truce, he later introduced himself as Mithrax, kell of the house of light”.

Vanguard looked surprised at this and Ikora wrote down a few Notes “Anne was... protected and you found her with the fallen?”.

Elsie nodded “I tracked them to their settlement and I couldn’t even get inside, they were waiting for me” she sighed “I found myself a prisoner and I was dragged in front of Mithrax and we talked briefly before he showed me where Anne was” she bit her lip “she was sleeping, but from where I was, I didn’t know if she was dead or alive and my emotions got the better of me so I tried to fight a house of fallen” she chuckled “Mithrax finished me before I could kill even one of them and next thing I knew, there was Anne, saving my stupid ass from the fallen” she smiled “so I stayed with her for the night”.

Zavala looked unsure “you stayed in a fallen settlement safely?”.

“Yeah, see Anne had proven she would not fight, she gave up her weapons and knives, the fallen called her weak but Mithrax saw a chance for a friendship, he wants peace with the guardians and normally, we shoot on sight, this particular hunter was weak and slow, and even better, she surrendered to protect her child, they didn’t trust me so much, and rightly so. Anne trusted me however and I guess Mithrax understood how worried I was so he allowed me to stay safely too” elsie smiled “it was strange, but almost pleasant but Anne owes her child’s life to Mithrax, had he been more ruthless, the child wouldn’t exist right now”.

Ikora looked fascinated “so where do the hive step into this story?”.

Elsie nodded “well I was originally coming home the day after, but I didn’t obviously, I looked after Anne for a bit but then, Mithrax said he was responding to a fallen distress signal, so I thought, this is what I do, if the fallen are friends, then they deserve my help just like any other guardian, so I went” she sighed “it was a pretty easy mission, I jumped on a skiff, joined a crew and got my orders, we took out a refueling harvester and it’s crew to get through to the hive den and honestly, I thought it would be over for the fallen inside because I think it had been festering for a while”.

“How did you work with the fallen?” Zavala asked.

“Sparks Brought her translation module but I showed my leading captain some simple hand signals to give me direct orders just in case, it was easy, and the mission itself was pretty normal, only I went out of my way to take the extra fire and fight to avoid as many casualties as possible” she looked uncomfortable “it only turned sour when I found the breeding grounds and I personally took out as much of it as possible” she smiled “well, it was a miracle but the fallen were still alive, however, I scared them because of course, guardians aren’t usually friendly and it shot me, it didn’t get past my shield of course but it did alert the entire hive” 

she sighed “I put up a bubble before directing the captain and his crew to leave and I used my light as bait to get them all out. I however... well a knight finally cut me down to size and I almost got out but then there was a wizard and I thought it was over” she cringed “she started tearing my light away and it’s fuzzy after that” she admitted “but I know I made it back to the settlement alive and it hurt like a bitch, I spent the next day or two in recovery which was why I didn’t report to the tower, nor return when I should have” she shrugged “I couldn’t very well tell you the whole story so I told you a half truth and accepted the punishment”.

Zavala crosses his arms looking uncomfortable “I... apologise... had we understood the extent of your actions, we likely would not have punished you, but I’m sure you understand why we did?”.

Elsie nodded “of course, you have an army to control, examples must be made” she smiled “it was a few days of city work, it’s nothing compared to what’s coming I’m sure” she chuckled.

“We will see” Ikora replied “I’m assuming you returned to the fallen settlement many times over the last few months?”.

Elsie nodded “I took work that let me leave the city for that reason alone, so I had an excuse to go, I did my duty and then I stayed with Anne for a day or two, whatever the mission allowed, I didn’t want to make you two suspious”.

“So you are considered friendly to the house of light?” Ikora asked curiously.

Elsie nodded “yeah, actually, my actions redeemed my first one, so much so that they gifted with the fallen title of captain to match my guardian code name”.

“What does that mean?” Zavala asked.

“It means that I’ve been accepted as part of the house of light and I am considered a captain, I have the helmet and weaponry to prove it” she looked thoughtful “my actions and ruthlessness combined with my willingness to give my light to protect the fallen made Mithrax think very highly” she smiled “I’d show you the armour but I don’t have it” she admitted.

“I’d love to see it” Ikora admitted “where is it?”.

“I have it” Skye put her hand up “back when elsie separated from me and Anne, she left the armour in my hands for safe keeping and I used it to help cause a distraction to help hide Elsie’s repositioning to get the city off our case”.

This made the vanguards raise an eyebrow but for now they passed on that information “please, show us this armour” Zavala nodded.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “I can keep it right? I earned it and while I accept any punishment you might give me, this armour was a gift, I must ask you to consider the context”.

Zavala looked thoughtful “it will depend... for now, you may keep it” he nodded.

This made elsie look happier and hope reluctantly made the helmet and cloak appear on the table beside the captains weaponry. The vanguard instantly looked curious and Ikora picked up the helmet and looked it over before taking notes. Zavala after a moment of looking over the weapons, looked impressed “well, it’s certainly some fine weaponry, pure fallen”.

Elsie nodded proudly “yeah, the cloak I earned separately and it belonged to Mithrax himself”.

“How did you do that?” Ikora asked as she picked up the cloak “this is house of dusk colours...” she mused.

Elsie smiled “well, it was early into Anne’s last month, she had decided that she wasn’t comfortable with ending her journey at the fallen settlement, she was feeling a bit self conscious about... lady things” she chuckled “I tried to convince her again to come back to the tower but she refused, we did however go for a joy flight”. 

Elsie nodded “well, while we were out, we picked up a distress signal, two downed guardians, one was hurt bad in the crash and no one else was around, mind you, Mithrax had decided to come with on our joy flight and now I have this kell with me and a bunch of fallen are attacking guardians, I wasn’t sure what to do, so we came up with a plan, not totally sure if it would work but Mithrax thought that if I looked like a captain, maybe they would consider leaving peacefully” elsie chuckled “so he gave me his cloak, sparks fixed my helmet to it fit properly and I pulled out my captains weaponry, I dropped down and naturally the two guardians were kinda freaked out until I took my helmet off”.

The vanguard was clearly becoming wrapped up in elsies story as their mood gave way to interest. Ikora however pulled out another report “this sounds like another report I received... captain... huh, I thought” she looked to elsie “so I’m assuming you were not testing a set of armour for the warlocks then...” she mused.

Elsie laughed “no, it was just easier to say that then explain how I got the armour, but anyway, I put on a show, pretended to be a captain and they believed me, I had to fight the captain of the attacking crew but I accepted the challenge and had a pretty cool sword fight and won, I made the fallen retreat without a single bullet” she smiled “I arranged for their pick up and continued on with my business”.

Zavala nodded “well done, did this feat award you the Kells cloak?”.

Elsie smiled “yeah, I matched it up with tangled shore armour and bam, I look like a captain, and I can fight like one too, I’m pretty proud of it all”. 

Ikora smiled “and you should be, I believe you deserve to keep these”.

“Indeed” Zavala agreed “however I would avoid wearing it around the tower, this is not the place”.

“If that’s the only rule, easy” elsie mused.

Ikora looked thoughtful and flicked through her paperwork “now, onto a heavier topic, your complete disappearance in the middle of a maintinemce mission, there were reports of fallen in the area but I suppose you probably have some insight to that”.

Elsie nodded “yes, the fallen were there to find me, Anne was going into labor and they were sent out to retrieve me and unfortunately, Skye was in the wrong place at the right time, I never intended to drag her down with me but we were in the middle of a mission together so I dropped everything and brought her with and I didn’t tell her anything so she had no idea what was happening either”.

Skye nodded with a sigh “yeah, elsie was super distracted and it showed, I was busy and all of a sudden I have a knife at my throat and I’ve been captured by captains, next thing I see is elsie get stabbed and captured too and we are getting dragged to elsies ship and they are demanding to know where the owner of the ship is”.

“The fallen didn’t recognise my armour until I put on my captain get up and they passed on the message that Anne needed help” elsie explained.

“That explains why you didn’t come back then I suppose” Zavala sighed.

“Yeah, I wasn’t about to leave Anne and her newborn, I was always planning on leaving the city to stay with her until she returned, I just wasn’t expecting Skye to be with me” she admitted.

“Why did you go to the farm then, you had to know that would risk everything?” Zavala asked.

Elsie nodded “I knew it would, but I was prepared for the consequences, it’s very important for a new mother to be eating correctly so I considered it an essential mission, even if it meant I would become alienated from the city” she sighed “had there been a less disrespectful way to do it, I would have done it but how could the vanguard ever hope to understand without the context, so I took the fall”.

We returned to the settlement but I decided that the guardians were getting too close so after a few hours I took what I had and went off on my own to give you someone to hunt for”.

“Mithrax gave her some cover by pretending to amass his troops not too far away from the wall so I went to support him in an effort to help as much as I could and elsie gave me her armour before she left so I looked the part” Skye added.

Ikora nodded “it all checks out, it was a clever plan” she looked impressed “so that explains the various sightings and signals up until the day you handed yourself in” she looked to elsie “why did you hand yourself in?”.

“I was out of supplies and there was no where I could go to resupply, so I just let you guys find me, I knew I’d be in deep shit but I’d done my job and protected my fireteam, I wasn’t about to risk letting you get their location from my ghost, so we split with the promise to get together when Anne returned to the tower” she sighed “and you know the rest, I’ve been going crazy in a cell for however long I’ve been here” she crossed her arms “I know I did everything wrong so I’m not complaining”.

“Will you reveal the location of the fallen settlement?” Zavala asked.

Elsie looked thoughtful “it’s complicated, I want to protect them so I don’t feel like I can” she admitted “especially considering my position in the the house”.

“That’s a shame, but I suppose I can understand” Ikora sighed “now I know your story...” she looked to skye “I have a disturbing report about you skye, I’d like you to clarify the details if you will”.

Skye nodded and cringed “well, I uh, I started going out and assisting the fallen on their missions... the mission you have recorded is one of the later missions and I had started dropping by myself to distract anything that might have been around, this was about a day after elsie was arrested and sparks had been returned to me unharmed, we were on our way out for a supply mission and we were raiding a city cache to get supplies for Anne mostly” 

she bit her lip “I knew this was going to get messy because there was two guardians in the area but I was ready, I’m not nearly as convincing as elsie, but I was ok and at first, they just thought I was a normal captain, my job was to keep them distracted so the fallen could work and I did that, but I needed support from Mithrax because I was losing. I was never going to win on raw strength against one titan let alone two guardians, one of which being a titan. I could only use so much of my light or weaponry because I was playing the part”.

“But you were seen...” Ikora added.

Skye nodded “yeah, I lost, they were suspious because obviously, I don’t have four arms and I did use arc light really well for a captain, Mithrax stepped in before they could reveal me properly and he killed the hunter right off the bat and chased away the titan, I ressed while the hunter was dead but it wasn’t long before the hunter stood up too because he too is a guardian, I expected it” she admitted “we fought a bit more but he managed to tear my helmet off and bang, he knew I wasn’t a captain, since the secret was out, I popped a super and killed him right there before going to assist Mithrax fearing that he would fall to a super and I admittedly freaked out when the titan popped his hammer so I summoned the rest of my light and used my chaos reach to shut him down before Mithrax could get hurt”.

Skye chuckled “Mithrax grabbed me and retreated after that, the idea wasn’t to kill them permanently but obviously the guardians would have killed the fallen so we were protecting his crew to get the supplies for Anne”.

“Well it’s quite clear that all three of you have done a lot of wrong” Zavala sighed “but it’s also clear that your heart was in the right place” he continued “while the vanguard can not condone your actions, we will consider how to treat this situation” he nodded “was there anything else that we should know?”.

“Not that I can think of” elsie shrugged “I will accept my punishment with grace”.

“I am the same” Skye nodded “my choices were mine alone, I did what I considered right, that doesn’t make me any different to any other guardian however”.

Ikora looked thoughtful “well, I must once again state that I admire the strength of your fireteam, it’s wonderful to see, for now, we must deliberate but I appreciate your honesty and this information will stay with the vanguard” she sighed “I will return you to your cell until a decision has been made and your punishments will be handed out to you then”. 

Zavala looked thoughtful “I do wish to compliment both of you, your dedication to your cause is admirable and you have represented the city well, if there truly is a way to one day work with the fallen, then Perhaps the work you three have done, whether intentional or not, will be a good start” he stood “I look forward to seeing you both in the field eventually” he gave them a nod before looking to Ikora and letting himself out leaving the warlock vanguard with the two younger guardians.

Ikora put her paperwork in her book before closing it thoughtfully “it’s quite the impressive story, but let’s keep it among ourselves” she suggested as she stood “I’ll return you to your cell”.

The two didn’t complain as the vanguard led them back and locked them and their ghosts back up and Ikora left once more.

Elsie returned to the bed with a sigh and laid down with a sigh “so I guess that went well...”.

Skye settled beside her with a nod, cuddling up to her “i guess so...”.

Elsie shifted to face her and pulled her into a tight hug “Well no matter what happens, at least I can cuddle, I’ll be fine” she smiled playfully “should we continue where we left off?” She teased.

Skye blushed “have I awakened a monster?” She mused.

“No, she’s always been here” elsie mused “you just took her chains off” she smiled.

Skye looked torn before sighing “ah, I guess there’s not much else to do... why not” She pulled the titan into a kiss and elsie didn’t fight her, replying eagerly. It was mere moments before elsie once more topped the warlock passionately and they broke apart with hungry gasps. The titan let a hand trail up to the warlocks chest playfully making the warlock whimper and pant as she cupped one of the her breasts, she was quite voluptuous compared to the titan and elsie appeared to love it as she traced kisses and bites down her neck and shoulders. Elsie however didn’t stop there as she pressed her thigh against the warlocks lower area making her whine hungrily . 

It was clear what both of them wanted and as elsie brought the warlock into another hungry kiss briefly, elsie smiled “you feel like a shower?” She mused.

Skye nodded with that that, elsie got up and helped the warlock up before dragging her into the bathroom and closing the door. She didn’t hesitate to press the warlock against the wall and begin another hungry kiss as her hands found the zip that kept her from the warlocks form, she didn’t hesitate to free her from her jumpsuit before doing the same with her underwear. Skye was briefly embarrassed but not for long as the titan quickly overwhelmed her with hungry passion and Skye stripped the titan of her own clothes. 

Elsie Brought a hand down to lift the warlocks thigh to her side and pressed her own against the warlock making her whimper hungrily. Elsie let her other hand explore the warlocks bare form, paying attention to her nipples and breasts playfully before trailing downstairs to press against her teasingly makingingbyhe warlock shiver with pleasure, she was already wet and with a few teasing stokes, she inserted her finger making Skye moan weakly. 

Elsie smiled playfully, enjoying the warlock at her mercy and she inserted another to play with her. once she found the spot, the warlock couldn’t help but let out pleasured moans as elsie went out of her way to make her feel good. She stopped just as the warlock was about to come to her attention however much to the warlocks disappointed whimper and she got to her knees to rest the warlocks leg on her shoulder before bringing her lips to the warlocks pussy instead and she continued to pleasure her with her tongue instead. 

Skye blushed deeply but the titan knew what she was doing and after a short but thorough attention, the warlock moaned loudly as she came, leaving her breathless and weak. Elsie pulled her into her Lap and trapped the warlock against the wall playfully making Skye giggle. 

“I thought you were only this aggressive on the battlefield...” she murmured breathlessly.

“Who said this isn’t a battlefield” elsie teased before bringing the warlock into another hungry kiss. Her hand this time went to her own pussy and she let out pleasured whines as she started to please herself as she pressed up against the warlock. Skye took the hint and let her own hands wander the titans form before breaking the kiss and returning the titans affection, pressing kisses, bites and licks against the titans body making elsie moan. A hand went down stairs to help tease her as the other went to her ass to hold her in place and with a pleasured pant and moan, she came to the attention. 

Both women were left breathless and broke into happy giggles as they cuddled against each other and begun another loving kiss.

“You know, I’m pretty sure your supposed to go out on a date first” Skye finally commented cheekily.

Elsie looked thoughtful ”ah, well I don’t always like playing by the rules” she teased “and ok, maybe I was just horny as hell, but you...” she sighed as he’s gaze traveled the warlocks form “I’ve wanted you for a while” she admitted.

Skye blushed with a laugh “was it as good as you hoped?”.

“Yes” she replied simply “I can only imagine how much better it would be if we weren’t in confinement that was ruining our light sensitivity” she squeezed Skye lovingly.

Skye looked thoughtful as she brought a hand up to sweep her hair out of her face “is that why you look so dull?” She mused.

Elsie nodded “you didn’t notice?” She sighed “I suppose I’ve had nothing else to think about, to be fair... but yeah, the walls nullify light and leave only a healthy amount of light in whoever is unfortunate enough to be stuck here, no grenade supplies, no super, nothing, I was startling to go crazy because everything just felt numb” she smiled “it’s mildly better with you around though”.

Once It was pointed out, Skye looked almost uncomfortable “oh... that’s...” she looked guilty “you’ve been here so long... I’m so sorry”.

Elsie shrugged “you’ve already made it up to me” she mused before shifting to stand and she offered her hands “we should probably clean up in case we get a visitor” she smiled.

Skye accepted her help to stand with a nod “maybe we can save some awkwardness” she agreed. 

Really the bathroom was only designed for one, but it didn’t matter as elsie quite happily shared the space with the warlock and didn’t hesitate to help her tidy up leading to some more heated emotion, but eventually they finally returned to the bed, elsie looked more relaxed than she’d been since Skye had joined her and the warlock curled up beside her more than happily. 


	15. Freedom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The vanguard lets Fireteam Russian Roulette go with a leash to boot, not that that will hold any of them back for long.

Since there wasn’t much else to do, they ended up sleeping, talking or playing to pass the time, behaving now that it seemed elsie had gotten her Pent up feelings out. She however could barely keep her hands off Skye, adoring cuddles and attention. Skye didn’t mind, enjoying the attention just as much. It was another day before they were picked up a few titans who restrained them both and they were walked back to where their armour was being kept so they could put it back on which was a great sign.

They were then dragged into the vanguard situation room where Anne was settled on a seat, feeding kyra under a blanket. At seeing elsie she lit up “there you are! Are you ok?”.

Elsie gave a playful nod “of course, they had me in confinement but that’s fine, not as fun as it sounds I can assure you” she smiled.

“I’m so sorry...” Anne apologised with guilt “I’m so... so sorry”.

Elsie shook her head “what for? I made my own choices, you aren’t at fault for this” she promised. 

This didn’t help much but Anne looked at the titan with admiration “your the best...”.

“I know” elsie teased.

“How’s kyra?” Skye asked.

“Well, I think she had to adjust a little, she wouldn’t settle properly” Anne sighed looking tired “but I think she’d getting the hang of it, she’s fine though” she smiled “what about you?”.

Skye smiled with a blush “it’s been surprisingly pleasant, but then again, I wasn’t kept in confinement on my own, so maybe I just started off in a better predicament”.

Anne gave the two of them a cheeky smile “I’m glad to hear, I was worried”.

“I’m only a little extra crazy” elsie mused playfully.

They were interrupted by Ikora entering the room “uncuff them, cuffs aren’t necessary” she assured and she sat down and looked to the guards “you may leave”. The guards did as they were told and gave the two a suspicious look before leaving. Ikora motioned to some spare seats “we just need to go over some things and you all can be on your way, make yourself comfortable”.

“This seems supiously easy” elsie admitted before going to move forward and lost her balance and collapsed with surprise looking a bit unwell.

Skye immediately dropped down with concern “What’s wrong? You ok?”.

“I was feeling a bit dizzy, I’m fine” elsie assured “I’m just a bit hazy”.

“It’s the extra light” sparks sighed “your overwhelmed after so long being cut off from it”.

Elsie chuckled “huh, that’s fair I guess... explains a lot actually...”

Ikora got up to come over and kneeled “it should pass in a few hours, a day at most” she promised before looking slightly guilty “I forget about that particular side affect” she admitted “I’ll help you up, we don’t often hold a guardian for long enough for that side affect to set in”.

Elsie smiled “special treatment, I feel lucky” she teased before accepting the help from the two warlocks.

Ikora gave her a small smile “I believe it also helps that you are awoken, they have always had a very special attachment to the light, it’s facinating” she mused, once the titan was seated, she sat down herself once more.

“Guardians go in and out if dark places all the time, why would this have a different affect?” Skye asked curiously, sitting beside the titan and subtly taking her hand supportively.

“From my studies, the affect usually sets in after three to four days of continuous containment, due to the draining affect of containment, it begins to hinder how well you can react to changing light and the longer you stay, the more severe the affect” Ikora sighed “perhaps it was cruel to keep you there but unfortunately, procedure must be followed, an example must be made as elsie herself said, you have my apologies however”.

Elsie shrugged “it’s fine, great power comes with great responsibly as they say, rules are rules” she did however shift to lean on the warlocks shoulder with a sigh.

Ikora looked at the titan thoughtfully before looking up to greet Zavala with a nod as he entered and he sat down “your all here, good, I trust your all well”.

“Mostly” Skye nodded.

“Good, the vanguard has decided on your punishment” he continued “each of you will be given a tracking bracelet, this will provide your location twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the vanguard will know where you are, no matter how far away you are” he gave the three a stern look “any attempt to remove said tracking bracelet will result in further confinement and next time, you will be kept there until your punishment ends, whether that be days, or months... I would suggest you not test this”.

Ikora nodded “the three of you are being punished for six months all up, however you will have further restrictions in that time” she looked to Anne in particular “Anne, because of your choices, you are tower bound for the next six months beginning today” she glanced at the child in her arms “after that time, you are to report to the vanguard and we will decide if further punishment is needed”.

Zavala nodded “consider this punishment kind, we are aware you have responsibilities now so use this time to look after your child, any hint of intention to leave and you will receive a more severe punishment, not to mention, your child’s safety will be questioned”.

Anne nodded with a sigh “yes sir”.

Zavala then turned to elsie “your punishment is light also considering your total lack of order and respect, however your intentions were pure” he sighed “at the end of the day, you did your duty as a titan so you will receive two months of city duties, the remaining four will be constrained to city and wall duty. In this time; you may not leave the boundaries of the city walls but you are however, free to fly within the city boundaries to reach your position of the day”.

Elsie gave a salute “orders received loud and clear”.

Ikora looked to skye “last but not least, Skye. I am of the understanding that you prefer to stay within the city for work?”.

Skye nodded “yes, that’s my preference” she admitted.

“It wouldn’t be much of a punishment then to give you the same” Ikora sighed “you will take on two months of wall duty followed by four of city work, however if you are given a mission in that time, you do not have the luxury of choice unless you have a very good reason” she nodded “if you are chosen for a lengthy mission off planet, you are expected to go without complaint and do not consider taking the chance to leave, if you are separated from your party for a reason that doesn’t involve orders, you will be punished severely in accordance with your actions”.

Skye cringed subtly but nodded “yes mame”.

Ikora looked thoughtful “you can also consider this punishment kind as you were not involved nearly as long, however, we cannot over look your actions against your fellow guardians, despite your reasonings”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “I have only one question” she admitted “what is the vanguards opinion on...” she looked for the words before continuing “the company we kept”.

Zavala nodded “the vanguard will overlook your... company... as you put it, however, if In the future, we need your assistance with any matter relating to the situation, any one of you may be expected to offer your assistance without question”.

“That’s fair” elsie admitted “thank you for your kindness” she looked grateful “it’s more more than I expected”.

“It will remain that way as long as all three of you follow the rules given to you, any resistance and you will be instead confined further” Zavala replied, he then held up his hand and three thin bands of leather stood straight in his hand, he set them on the table “ghosts, this is where you come in, place this securely on your respective guardian and once activated, any attempt to unlock or take it off, we will know and your guardian will be punished, regardless of who’s choice it was to attempt”. the threat was clear and the ghosts looked uncomfortable but each took their shackle and after a moment of thought, placed the band on the most convenient place for their respective guardian.

Zavala finally stood “I would hope that I don’t need to explain anything further, but are there any questions?”. As the guardians shook their head, he continued “good, you are all free to go, keep in mind you will all be under observation however so the second you step out of line, we will know”.

“Take care guardians” Ikora added gently “your ghosts will receive your orders in a few days time so until then, take some time to deal with any personal matters you might have to attend too”.

Anne took a moment to adjust kyra before standing and offering her hand to elsie and Skye offered her other to help her stand without falling again and they were on their way, they got many judgmental stares on the way out of command. 

Elsie waited to get to the elevator before pulling the hunter into a gentle hug, being careful of kyra “I’m glad to see you both” she smiled “how did you guys go without me?”.

Anne hugged back with a chuckle “well it wasn’t nearly as fun” she smiled “but we talked a lot about you behind your back” she teased “about how you were the worst... you know” she sighed before looking guilty “I am so sorry...”.

Elsie shook her head “for what? A bit of boredom, it’s not the end of the world” she promised playfully”.

Skye sighed “so you say after you were affected by the light”.

Elsie shrugged “I just can’t handle my own power, that amuses me, I’m too powerful for my own good” she grinned playfully “I’ll take that ego boost”

Anne looked defeated “your so obnoxious...”.

“You both love me” elsie teased “so, what are your plans?” She looked to her company happily “because I’m having some drinks and going out for dinner for some proper food”.

Anne smiled “I’m sure it’s going to be a surprise, but I’m staying home and looking after a baby, but you have fun with that” as the elevator stopped, Anne went to leave “you can come over whenever you like since it’s not like I have anywhere to be anymore” she gave an annoyed sigh.

“Well I was planning on it anyway” elsie admitted playfully “I just want to ditch my armour” she looked to skye “what about you?”.

Skye looked uncertain and bit her lip “I don’t know...” 

Elsie looked thoughtful before pulling her into a hug “then your coming with me and we are going to dinner” she smiled.

Anne gave the two a look “if you make it to dinner...” she teased “have fun you two” she mused as she headed home.

Skye didn’t have time to reply as she blushed and elsie laughed. “I mean... sure” she finally replied nervously “but aren’t you not feeling the greatest?”.

“It will pass” elsie assured “and even if it doesn’t, I don’t care, because I want to spend my night with you” she smiled “and what better way than going out for proper food for the first time in months with the addition of drinks” she shrugged “you don’t have too, but I’m going too because I can afford it” she chuckled.

Skye sighed “ok, point made” she admitted “it sounds great” she nodded “however, I’d like to drop by my place before I go anywhere”.

“I could pick you up later if you like?” Elsie offered “I can get home on my own” she smiled.

As the lift stopped, they escaped to their floor and Skye looked thoughtful “are you sure?”.

“Of course” she mused “as long as I don’t run, I’m good” she looked playfully “I’ll probably have a nap and come pick you up in a few hours unless you have complaints about said plan”.

Skye shook her head “no, that’s fine” she smiled.

“Great, we can drop by Anne’s and then head out for some fun” she looked cheerful “it will be great!”.

It was a short walk to skyes place, she lived on the same floor as elsie and much closer to the lifts so as Skye let herself in, she immediately let out a grateful sigh “home... I love my house!” She smiled before turning to elsie “I uh, I’ll see you this afternoon?”.

Elsie nodded “I’ll see you then” she mused as she went to leave, only to be briefly stopped by Skye.

“Before you go...” she pressed a kiss on the titan cheek with a blush “take care ok”, she then escaped into her house. The rest of the walk, elsie looked over the moon.

Elsie hadn’t been home properly for months, even back before she had abandoned the city to look after Anne. She’d spent a few days here and there at home, but as she entered her house, she let out a relaxed sigh.

Sparks appeared eagerly “oh thank the traveller, hah, it’s so good to be home! Surrounded by my favourite information again” she laughed “and of course, my favourite titan” she nudged the titan happily “do you want me to stay home tonight?”.

Elsie smiled “you can if you like, but I don’t mind either way, as long your safe, I’m happy, and I’ll be with Skye so I shouldn’t go mad” she mused. She headed to the kitchen to make a coffee before heading upstairs with it to get out of her armour.

“Well I’d rather stay with you and just hide if you get up to anything later” she admitted “I have spent enough time away from you” she sighed.

As the titan took off her armour, she started looking unhappy at the state of it, she hadn’t been able to maintain it for the longest time and it showed, there was dirty marks and gunk in places and her boots in particular were filthy “well don’t worry, I’m not going to send you away ever again, or uh, not like that again anyway, turns out I don’t like being alone, who knew right?” She sighed before looking depressed “that was rough...” she admitted.

Sparks looked guilty “I can tell... your very clingy”.

Elsie bit her lip “ah, I’m not too annoying am I?” She asked with worry.

“I don’t think so” sparks assured “it’s not your fault you miss people”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “i missed you mostly” she left her plates on the floor neatly before pulling off her leathers and jumpsuit, the thin leather band caught her attention as sparks had attached it to her ankle.

“It looked like you missed Skye more” sparks chuckled playfully.

Elsie blushed “uh, I mean I did, but I mostly missed... human interaction I suppose, I missed talking to you most of all” she sighed “there’s only so many conversations you can have with yourself without your other half” she settled into finding something to wear and headed down to shower.

“So what was it like?” Sparks asked with guilt.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “I mean, it was fine, they fed and watered me every day, the odd titan even talked to me for a few minutes, they thought I was crazy for talking to Zavala like I did but I think they admired my balls” she chuckled and settled in front of her bathroom mirror and looked at her hair with disgust, it now hung at her shoulders with a messy wave running through it “I need a hair cut...” she muttered as she ran her hand through her hair.

Sparks looked thoughtful “I think it looks nice, why don’t you clean it up and cut it after tonight, your hair is beautiful when it’s longer”.

Elsie smiled “your charming, you know that?”.

“Of course” sparks nodded playfully.

Elsie ran a brush through her hair before hopping in the shower “you know it was fine for the first few days, I kinda managed, I napped or worked out, but the room, I didn’t notice it at first but I started feeling numb, and there was nothing I could do to make me feel proper, that’s when I started going nutty because I just got ridiculously bored and because I couldn’t feel anything, i couldn’t distract myself and conversations by yourself just aren’t that fun” she looked uncomfortable “I mostly just worried about you, I hadn’t slept properly for days when you guys finally turned up”.

“I feel like I just should have come with you” sparks admitted.

Elsie shook her head “no, I’m glad you didn’t, it would have ended the same, only they probably would have taken Anne’s location from your shell, as it is, I think the fact I didn’t have you protected me because they tried to question me and naturally, they couldn’t get me to say anything” she looked unsure “I’m not saying they would have done anything but I know they didn’t do anything because I didn’t have my ghost to protect me”.

Sparks looked thoughtful “you know, after spending our time with the fallen, I’ve started to think that guardians aren’t always good...” she sighed “I mean, I get it in a way but to keep you contained so long in a place that they know will hurt you... and to be so forceful... I almost think it’s too much”.

“Its not” elsie replied “think about this way, I personally have killed gods, we are the most dangerous thing in this system when we work together, when guardians go bad, they become one of the most dangerous forces in this system, look at dredgen Yor and thorn for example, they have to be stern to show that this behaviour is not acceptable because if they don’t, suddenly the less straight laced of us start thinking, oh, this person got away with this? I’ll be fine, and then the vanguard loses the power to control the guardians. The whole city begins to worry that the ‘hero’s’ have turned bad and I’m sure you can see where that would lead” she sighed “I understand... which is why I don’t mind being punished, however, it doesn’t change how uncomfortable it will be for a few months”.

Sparks looked torn “I suppose your right but still” she sighed “it’s just, after everything you did... I just don’t think you deserve it I guess”.

Elsie chuckled “well that, I don’t have an opinion on. when a young life is involved, I can’t really complain when everyone came out alive and happy, mostly” she smiled “how about you? What did you get up too without me? Surely it was more fun” she smiled.

Sparks looked thoughtful “well, I got captured by fallen, but I think I told you that...” she looked unsure.

“When? Did they hurt you?” Elsie asked carefully.

Sparks smiled “well, I waited until I was sure the guardians didn’t kill you, and then I put on my camo shell on to help blend in. I started heading back towards the settlement, it was about a day or so away so I wasn’t worried really and the first day was easy” she looked proud “I still got it... mostly”.

Elsie chuckled “mostly?”.

Sparks settled comfortably on a pile of folded towels before continuing “well, I hid in the day light, fine but I decided to take cover and power down for the night, a vandal found me the next morning when I was trying to slip out of my hiding spot, fallen are too fast” she muttered “it’s like they knew how to catch a ghost, they didn’t let me go at all so I couldn’t transmat away”.

“Well fallen are smart, they probably did know” elsie sighed “how did you get out of that one?”.

“I kinda just pretended to be dead, since I couldn’t do anything else, I was given to a captain and there was a fight I think but I was really confused and I ended up in another captains hands, there was the sound of a skiff and then it got really quiet and I heard Mithrax talk” she chuckled “he didn’t know if I was was dead or not but I escaped as soon as he opened his hand, he was going to show me to skye”.

“Why didn’t you wait?” Elsie mused.

“Because I was sure it was Mithrax but what if I was wrong? No way I was risking that” she replied “boy Mithrax looked surprised though, Skye wasn’t expecting to see me either and I put on my favourite shell again to prove I was who I said I was”.

Elsie laughed and let herself out of the shower before continuing the chat as she dressed “so I guess it was pretty easy after that?”.

“Well yeah, although, apparently I caught them as they were about to go out for a raid” she chuckled “Skye was all dressed up in your armour and everything, she looked great so I decided to go with, I actually joined Mithrax to help protect him, that was cool” she mused.

“You fought with Mithrax? How was that?” Elsie asked curiously.

“He fights like you, it was easy” she bragged “he took a few hits from a titan but Skye used her chaos reach on the titan when he went to use his hammer, it was kinda scary” she admitted “I think it drained Skye pretty good though because Mithrax carried her back to the skiff, she looked pretty tired and I swear she used storm call too? But I’m not sure because she did use chaos reach and I thought she could only use one at a time” she looked thoughtful “I forgot to ask”.

Elsie sighed “so she really did attack some guardians... I didn’t think she’d have it in her” she looked impressed and picked sparks up as she headed upstairs, sparks wasn’t bothered by this and the titan settled into bed with a relaxed sigh before setting the ghost beside her comfortably.

“Absolutely” sparks mused “it was impressive, so when do you want to be woken up?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “what’s the time now?”.

“Ten am” sparks replied.

“Make it five then, I’ll head out at six” she smiled before yawning and settling comfortably “I might be able to sleep properly now that your here, who knows” she mused.

“I got you” sparks promised “I’ll be right here”.

Elsie gave the ghost a loving gaze before letting sleep take her and it was barely minutes before she was dead to the world. Sparks watched over her protectively for a little as she put her own programs in order. After being away from the tower so long, there was a lot to catch up on and she powered down after that. 

The sleep did wonders for the titan and it was hard to stir her from sleep but as requested, sparks nudged her cheek to wake her and the titan reluctantly rejoined the living with a tired yawn, it took a few minutes to convince herself to get out of bed and she settled down for a coffee before beginning anything. 

It was around six when elsie was ready to go and she wore a comfy set of pants under a long sleeved shirt, she had pondered whether she should dress up but decided against it because she didn’t want to make a huge deal out of dinner, not to mention, she had every intention to have some drinks so she wanted to plan for that at the end of the night. 

As the titan reached skyes door, she looked nervous as she knocked on the door, despite her normally happy and confident aura, she was shy almost as she tapped her toe anxiously. Skye didn’t take long to answer the door with a shy blush and she seemingly had a similar idea, dressing in a casual winter wrap dress.

Skye greeted her with a smile despite looking nervous “hi... you look better, did you enjoy your sleep?”.

Elsie nodded “yeah, it’s great to be home, and sparks is also a nice touch” she admitted “I feel great now” she smiled “you uh? Ready to go out?”.

“One second” Skye replied before ducking inside and after a moment, she returned with a bag hanging at her shoulder before locking up her house “uh...” she blushed “will we be returning to.. our own houses?”.

Elsie chuckled “well I haven’t thought that far ahead” she admitted. 

Skye smiled “no problem, I was just curious...” she looked nervous “so where are we going?”.

The titan offered her hand “well I was thinking... we drop by Anne’s before we get too far and then I know a really cool place to eat, it’s a bit out of the way, but it’s worth it” she promised.

Skye took her hand happily “sounds great”. They started walking casually as they continued talking “did you do something with your hair?”.

Elsie shook her head “no, it’s just grown out, that’s all, it gets all fluffy if I don’t get it straightened every month or so” she sighed as she ran her spare hand through her hair, since she had brushed it, it was now a fluffy bob that settled on her shoulders nicely.

The warlock looked thoughtful “I like it like this” she mused “makes you look less soldier, why do you keep it straight?”.

“Ah, I got it cut a few days after my first revival, my friend suggested it but I did it and still do it because it’s so much easier for putting on my helmet, I don’t need to mess around trying to tie it up or fit it in a small space comfortably, you know?” Elsie smiled “I apparently looked really glamorous back then”.

Skye sighed “ah, I should have guessed” she looked curious “you don’t by chance have a picture do you?”.

“Nope” else teased “your stuck with boring elsie, sorry”.

“You boring? Please” Skye replied playfully “it’s a shame though, I’d kill to see what newborn elsie was like” she admitted.

“Take a guess” elsie mused, as they reached the elevator, they settled against the wall as they headed up.

“A guess?” Skye raises an eyebrow “how am I supposed to guess that? I wasn’t even born then” she replied.

“It’s not hard” elsie assured.

After a moment of thought, Skye nodded “well... judging by what I have been told, you were decisive at least...” she looked curious “were you as cheerful and lovable?”.

Elsie bit her lip “you could say it that way” she nodded “once I was on the ground anyway, I was very passionate and got very drunk” she mused “and the guardian I stayed with, who became my best friend, she was very attractive” she blushed slightly.

Skye looked a little surprised “what? There’s no way you have always been like that... really?” She leaned over curiously “did you seriously?”.

Elsie smiled “yeah, seriously, I’ve always been...” she paused before chuckling “passionate in that way, apparently martians just come that way” she teased “so take it as a warning I suppose”.

Skye looked thoughtful “I feel like my revival was boring, I went straight into work” she sighed and as the elevator came to stop, they started wandering up the street.

“Rough, you really worked?” Elsie asked.

“Yeah, the first planet I visited was Venus since I wasn’t born on one” she smiled. 

“No wonder you like working so much” elsie teased “you never learned how to relax”.

Skye laughed “I know how to relax, that’s why I visit you” she smiled before blushing.

“Oh, so you just used me?” Elsie asked playfully “I’m offended”.

Skye shoved her playfully in response “of course not, friends are allowed to visit each other” she replied.

The titan just gave her a cheeky grin before sighing with content “I always have enjoyed your company, although you always tend to bring a problem with you” she smiled.

Skye looked confused “what?”.

Elsie put a hand “I mean that in the politest way possible” she assured “I mean, it’s true though, you bring over whatever your working on or you mention you need something and I offer to help and give you ideas, it’s fun problem solving with you” she explained “I never know what to expect”.

The warlock went to reply before thinking about it with a blush “do I really? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think about it...”.

Elsie smiled “it’s fine, it’s kinda cute” she admitted “not to mention, I kinda ask you what’s going on on purpose, otherwise you don’t relax properly, I can tell if something’s bothering you”

Skye sighed “your very observant for a dumb titan” she smiled.

“I’ll take that” elsie chuckled “so uh, what are we telling Anne?” She asked carefully “I’m pretty certain she has already guessed, Anne is observant like that, not to mention dust probably did all the snooping” she smiled.

Skye looked thoughtful “well I suppose, we could try it out, see if uh... we work out... until then, we are mostly just testing the waters.. as they say, no pressure” she looked shy.

“The next few months is going to be a good test” elsie admitted “but honestly, work comes first... even if we weren’t forced to behave, so if it works, we will know in a few weeks I think” she looked to skye hopefully “but I am prepared to give this my best go and I promise to behave better in the future” she blushed looking coy.

Skye smiled “you didn’t hear any complaints from me, so it’s ok” she assured.

It was another few minutes before they got to Anne’s and elsie went to knock before deciding against it and she let herself in quietly just in case the little one was sleeping. Hearing the door, dust was the first to appear suspiciously before she smiled “Anne’s in her bedroom putting kyraas down” she explained before looking indecisive before floating over to nudge her gratefully “I wanted to thank you... we owe you” she mused before doing the same to skye “and of course, thanks for sticking with us too”.

The two nodded “your cute when your not being shady” elsie teased.

“Well don’t tell anyone, I have a reputation to keep” dust replied playfully before fading back into hiding.

The guardians looked amused before heading to the bedroom and the door was open. the hunter had changed from her armour to casual clothes and she comfortably sat beside her child who was now sleeping on the bed peacefully. Anne looked up at the movement at her door instantly, it was clear her instincts were on high alert despite where they were but she gave them a wave as she got up and motioned them to go to the kitchen before closing the bedroom door and following. 

“So, elsie returns to life” Anne teased as she set about making herself a tea “can I offer you guys a drink or anything?”.

“You make it sound like I slept the day away” elsie replied with amusement “I’m good, I’ll wait till dinner” she smiled.

“Well you did didn’t you?” Anne smiled “you look like you did, you look better”.

“Is it that easy to tell?” Elsie asked.

“You looked very zombie like” Anne smiled “now your at least a shade more lively, considering you usually look remarkably pale anyway” she settled at the table with her tea.

“You got me, I’m feeling much better now I’m allowed to have light again” she mused “thank you for noticing I suppose”.

“Your welcome” Anne nodded before giving the two a cheeky smile “I heard a cheeky rumour about you two, care to enlighten me?” She asked.

Skye blushed “depends on the rumour”.

“Oh, well, I heard that you guys were very happy to see each other” she teased.

The two blushed looking uncomfortable but elsie chuckled “you don’t miss a beat do you?”.

“I’ve got nothing else to do when kyraas is sleeping” she mused and sipped her tea “are you trying to change the subject?”.

Elsie smiled “alright, alright, well, it may be true” she admitted quietly “but it was totally on me, I was going a little nutty by the time you guys got here” she bit her lip “I may have been a bit eager”, Skye blushed awkwardly beside her.

Anne however looked amused “your very sly for a titan, I’m impressed, very bold too, she leaned over curiously “so. Are you guys a thing now?”.

Elsie laughed “I may have asked if Skye would go out with me...” she smiled.

“And...?” She looked expectantly at skye.

The warlock blushed further “I said yes...”

Anne nodded and lounged back comfortably “hah, and I didn’t even have to intervene, wonderful, although I kind of assumed... you were awfully chipper after getting out of confinement” she smiled “congratulations I suppose” she looked thoughtful “you guys look cute together, so if there’s anything I can do? Let me know” she leaned over to skye “you are one lucky gal” she mused “I’m almost jealous”.

Skye chuckled “jealous even? I thought you didn’t like being babysat?”.

“You get used to it” she smiled “now I have to do all this by myself because you guys are going to be busy working... I’m not sure how I’m going to cope, I don’t even have Mithrax to kill time with” she sighed.

Elsie smiled “well I’ll be around the City for once, so at least I won’t be too far away” she mused “I’m sure you will have options”.

“Well I’m not allowed to leave the tower, so I wonder if I’ll even be able to get to you” Anne looked irritated “I’ve never had a leash so small” she muttered.

“You did this to yourself” elsie smiled.

“I know, but I’m still going to complain” Anne sighed and sipped her tea.

“Well, if you like, you can come stay at my place if you feel like a change of scene” elsie assured “or if you need help, whatever you need, I’ll do what I can” she smiled “give me a day and I’ll get you a spare Key in case I’m busy or not around”

Anne looked appreciative “thank you”. She then finished her tea “so where are you guys going tonight?”.

“No idea” Skye smiled “it’s a surprise”.

Anne smiled “oh, is it... well don’t let me spoil it then” she mused “I look forward to hearing all the gossip after, your gonna tell me how it goes right?” She asked playfully.

Elsie looked amused “are you already that bored?”.

“Oh, well yes but mostly, I’m just curious” Anne smiled.

“Curious about what?” Elsie asked.

“Oh, well I’ve seen you at your worst, I’m just curious what your like at your best” Anne teased “are you a true princess charming? Or are you just as horny as ever for example” 

Elsie laughed with a blush “you sound like you miss me”.

Anne chuckled “even if I did, I’d never tell you” she assured.


	16. Time Passes Slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end of punishment is here and the fireteam is more than ready to meet it.

The months had been long and torturous. Skyes time on the wall was particularly bad as she struggled with the immense boredom of standing guard in the elements for days at a time, she particularly despised her early punishments and almost looked forward to the long trips that she was sent on to help with vanguard matters. 

While elsie herself was bored, she was loyal to a fault and didn’t complain once. She worked well in the situation centre however but she was excited to get out on the wall again, even if that’s the furthest she was allowed. 

The hunter in one way had the worst punishment, she hated staying confined in the tower and despite her child limiting where she could go and what she could do, she was irritable and moody almost constantly as she pondered the thought of breaking out of the tower, she had ended up moving in with the titan for some sanity and a change of pace. She craved the open spaces and freedom of the wilderness however, she like her fireteam managed to behave long enough to reach the end of their sentences and they found themselves waiting in the situation room for the vanguard once more.

Ikora like usual was the first to arrive and sat down to face them with a polite nod “welcome back guardians”.

“It’s a pleasure to be back” elsie smiled “did you miss us?”.

Ikora let out a chuckle “I see your in high spirits today” she mused.

“Of course” elsie replied “we get our test results back, I want to know if we were on our best behaviour” she looked amused.

Skye let out a sigh “elsie please.... your going to get us in trouble again” she muttered.

Ikora smiled “don’t worry, commander Zavala isn’t here yet, it’s fine” she nodded “it’s good to see such high spirits considering the situation” she admitted before looking the hunter who subtly stood in the corner rocking a grumpy kyraas “Anne is it? How have you been? Have you been well?”.

Anne looked up to the question “well yeah... I haven’t been allowed to go anywhere harmful” she sighed “Titans are surprisingly helpful sometimes too” she admitted.

“I’m glad to hear, is your child doing well? You haven’t had any trouble looking after her?” She asked with gentle concern.

“She’s fine, grumpy but fine... I’ve had elsie to help take the pressure off” she admitted before turning her attention back to kyraas as she threatened to start crying “I think she is just having a bad day today...” she looked a little frustrated and embarrassed.

Elsie immediately got up to walk over to put a hand on her shoulder supportively “I got this, you take a moment to relax ok”.

Anne sighed and nodded placing the child in the Titans arms “thank you” she muttered.

Elsie cuddled the child lovingly and despite her heavy metal armour that made the child look smaller and more delicate than ever, it was clear that she had stepped in as the secondary parent as it was barely a minute before kyraas stopped fussing in her arms.

“How do you do that?” Anne asked with a sigh “you’ve practically stolen my baby” she muttered.

Elsie smiled “she’s picking up your stress, that’s all, You will be fine once your out of here” she promised before settling at the table once more and Anne settled beside her with a tired sigh.

Ikora watched with interest “well I’m glad you have someone to help, Ive known friends who went through this, support is important” she smiled.

Anne blushed slightly “well I have the best support I could ask for” she admitted.

Ikora looked pleased before looking amused to elsie “there is just something satisfying about seeing a titan being so gentle” she mused.

“Hey, occasionally I can do more then punch things” elsie joked playfully “who knew right?”.

Ikora let out a quiet laugh as commander Zavala joined them and sat down, he looked mildly surprised to see elsie with the child but softened with the tiniest smile for a moment before looking more serious “welcome back, it’s good to see you three”.

“It’s always a pleasure sir” elsie replied.

Zavala looked the three over before letting out a sigh “so it seems your punishment has come to an end, well done” he nodded “I’m impressed, not one toe out of like from any of you, I must assume the message of the punishment has sunk in by now?” He looked to the hunter in particular.

Anne gave a nod “yes sir... communication is key”.

“Good” Zavala nodded “now, I don’t believe you need more punishment, however, I do have a job for you” he admitted.

Skye looked unsure “a job? As in a special job?”.

“Indeed” he sighed and stood to start pacing thoughtfully “this... house of light... that you’ve become friends with... the vanguard considers this a high priority friendship... or treaty perhaps” he looked to the three “I would like you...” he looked uncomfortable “potentially all.. of you...” he looked to the child in particular and looked unhappy with the prospect “the vanguard would like to strengthen this treaty you have and offer their support. I’d like you to offer your advice in the matter as the vanguard would like to potentially consider an alliance...”.

The three guardians looked surprised “so you want us to act as emissaries for the vanguard?” Skye clarified.

“Essentially, yes” Ikora nodded “perhaps it’s intrusive, but that’s why we need you, you know these fallen and if anyone can ‘test the waters’ as they say, it’s you three” she admitted.

“How long would you expect for this?” Anne asked carefully “none of us have seen the fallen for months...”.

Zavala nodded “we are aware... we would give you a month at most, however, in an effort to allow time for you to mend or strengthen your friendship, you will be left to your own devices” he sighed “the only condition is that the vanguard will expect an update report every three days, or sooner if something happens”.

“We would also expect that if you do assist in any fallen affairs, that you let the vanguard know so that we don’t run into any problems with guardians out on the field” Ikora added.

“Sounds easy enough” elsie admitted “so are we allowed to go together?”.

Zavala nodded “yes, although given your situation... I am concerned about your child” he looked to the hunter “I wish to know your intentions in this scenario”.

Anne looked unsure “as in if I take kyra with me?”.

Zavala looked uncomfortable “yes, I would personally prefer to know your child is safe at the tower” he admitted “but I am not the parent, the choice lies with you” he sighed “you are a fine hunter and the rest of you are exemplary in your own fields, particularly when together” he admitted “I trust that the three of you are strong enough to ensure nothing would go wrong”. 

Anne blushed slightly “thank you sir” she looked thoughtful “I do not have anyone I feel comfortable leaving kyra with” she admitted “if I did leave her with anyone, it would be elsie or Skye” she sighed “and that won’t do me any good if they are with me, so I would take her with, I have faith in my fireteam”.

“So be it” Zavala nodded “then I must insist on ensuring your child is properly protected”.

Ikora nodded “I have arranged for a young ghost to act as your child’s protection” she begun and as she held up her hand, a ghost with an ornately decorated traditional shell phased into existence over her hand “you don’t have to accept her help, but the offer is there for you”.

The ghost looked immensely curious and floated forward a bit nervously “uh, I’m totally ok with helping if you like, I promise I wouldn’t be intrusive, I’ll just be around if you need help with shielding and stuff”. She looked as if she wanted to fly over and have a look but resisted the temptation.

Skye looked thoughtful “what skills do you have?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, I’m a great armour smith” she admitted “really good with armour and ghost shells, I can make repairs on the fly with most things” she looked eager “in fact, I have something that might help” she looked a bit shy “I mean you don’t have to take it but uh, I was doing some research and I think I found a way to make some specialised armour, I uh, I haven’t tested it, but I also haven’t had anyone too...” she trailed off looking nervous “but I mean, that’s irrelevant, I’ve got lots of experience with field protection and stuff”.

Elsie smiled and offered her hand “you are adorable, what’s your name?”.

The ghost happily floated over “oh, of course, it’s gilder, I thought it matched my shell, you know? With the gold gilding on my shell” she smiled.

“It’s beautiful” elsie smiled “it looks like it was based around the chaperone” she observed.

“It’s was! You recognise it” she spun happily “I hoped it looked like it should”.

The guardians collectively smiled, even Zavala did for a moment and elsie continued “well, it’s up to Anne” she looked to the hunter.

Anne looked slightly torn before nodding and she looked thoughtfully to her child who had dozed off in the Titans armoured arms. “gilder... can you show me what you can do?” She asked carefully.

The ghost nodded “of course!” She smiled eagerly “but uh, I just need to get your child’s measurements...”.

Anne looked to elsie “let her do what she needs too”.

At the hunters request, elsie did as she was told and gently stood to allow the ghost to get a better judge of kyraas size and body and after a minute, she nodded and scanned the child as elsie held her against her chest. 

Gilder took her time to make sure it was right before light surrounded her form, turning into cloth that surrounded her form gently. Kyraas stirred slightly but with a comforting shh from elsie, she remained sleeping with a cute smile.

Kyraas was now dressed in tiny warlock robes, however it was more like a traditional dress with long sleeves and round gloves covered her hands keeping them enclosed and safe. Unlike with a normal warlock outfit, the pants were gone, simply leaving the jumpsuit Tights and a gentle under suit that clipped closed for easy access to clean her up when necessary. 

“I made this with a mix of light armour and silk, so it might be weaker than leather or other warlock fabrics, but it can be layered underneath a more protective coat if necessary and it shouldn’t be too hot or cold for her” gilder looked proud as she explained “she has a helmet too that has a basic rebreather so theoretically, she can go anywhere, oh and there is life systems too, basic but it should tell you the important stuff and if it’s connected to a ghost, they can tell you exactly what’s going on with her”.

Elsie sat down and settled comfortably looking impressed “not only is this the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, this is incredible” she smiled.

Skye nodded in agreement “she’s so cute! And did you do all this?”.

Gilder nodded “I went down to one of the the orphanages, a day care or two and I even went to the tower and city library” she smiled “I searched about child biometrics, growth I could expect, I wanted to know how I’d have to adjust things so it was comfortable... it might not fit for too long if my research is correct but I made it completely adjustable with enough data to be usable for at least a few months of not longer, the only thing I couldn’t really counter for was the extra light the child has, I might need to add some shielding for that” she looked thoughtful “I’d hate for a scanner to be able to see her without your permission”. 

Anne smiled “well I suppose you will have to stay for that” she mused.

“Perhaps..” gilder looked unsure “so do you want me to help?”.

“I would love you too” Anne nodded.

The ghost spun happily before floating over “I won’t let you down, I promise”.

Anne chuckled “I give it a few days, maybe you won’t be so keen then” she teased “but I’m sure you won’t, I appreciate the effort you’ve put into all of this” she smiled “I look forward to working with you”.

The vanguard watched quietly with interest, Ikora in particular looked fascinated “wonderful, that will give us some piece of mind at least” Ikora admitted.

“Thank you for this opportunity” gilder replied gratefully.

Elsie finally tore her gaze away from little kyraas “so when is this trip happening?”.

Zavala looked thoughtful “on the agreement that you understand the conditions, you may leave whenever your ready” he looked to the three “I do expect a notification of your intention to leave and expected departure however, so keep that in mind”.

Sparks appeared carefully “uh, sir, what of the tracking bracelets?”.

“Yes... we would like you to keep those on for a little longer” he admitted “the vanguard would still like to keep an eye on you, particularly if you are spending a longer period of time away from the tower”

Elsie looked thoughtful “I have only one complaint, I need to know that the location of the house of light will remain vanguard information specifically, I can’t risk putting the settlement at risk from a guardian attack”.

Ikora nodded “of course, I will take over your tracking myself” she assured “your location will remain vanguard business”.

“Can we put our ships in silent mode then for the same reason?” Elsie continued.

“You may” Zavala nodded. 

“There is just one more question I have for you” Ikora continued “I have discovered a signal tower that appears fallen and it’s connected to the vanguard network...” she looked unsure “you three wouldn’t have any idea about this would you?”.

Skye bit her lip and put her hand up awkwardly “uh, that’s me, I did that”.

Ikora sighed “I had my suspicions” she admitted “why? I haven’t been able to get through your work so I blocked it”.

Skye nodded “well, I wanted to give Mithrax a way to contact us three specifically, so I used parts of a guardian tower with some fallen tech to make a radio tower, it’s programmed to send any message from Mithrax directly to all of us, and I went out of my way to ensure that it can’t be used to access the vanguard network in any other way” she looked worried “how long has the signal been blocked for?”.

“A month” Ikora replied “in fact, I sent out a group of guardians to investigate it” she admitted as she pulled out a tablet to check something with a sigh “this tower isn’t near the fallen is it?”.

“Well no, but yes” Skye bit her lip “it’s close enough the fallen will be watching over it but not close enough that their location will be revealed, when did you send out the guardians?”.

The warlock vanguard looked thoughtful “a day ago... the group has gone dark” she admitted before flicking to some other information “I think your friend may have tried to contact you”. 

Zavala looked concerned “do you have a message?”

“Yes, ophicioys caught it as I unblocked the connection...” she nodded “it’s Fallen and it translates to ‘captain elsie; required, have matters, guardians tried and failed to attack house light, Mithrax want answers” 

“Well, it looks like I’m heading out” elsie sighed before looking to the child in her arms “I’ll see you in a bit” she mused before returning the child to her mother gently.

“Fix this, and if at all possible, save those guardians” Zavala ordered.

Elsie nodded and stood “I’ll do my best, hopefully Mithrax still wants to talk” she gave a salute and started to head out before being stopped by Skye.

“I can go with you” she offered.

Elsie smiled and put a hand on her cheek “no, you have the most important job, stay with Anne, I’ll see you both when I’ve made sure it’s safe, ok?” She leaned in to give her a loving kiss “I got this, promise”. 

Skye looked uncertain and blushed but nodded reluctantly “ok, but just... be careful”.

“I always am” she mused before walking out.

Skye seemed to want to go with but returned to her seat looking anxious, Ikora looked concerned “are you certain she will be fine?”.

Anne nodded “for one, she is the highest ranked out of all of us, and two, she can handle it if she has to fight for her dominance, once she gives the all clear, I’ll follow her”.

“What do you mean?” Zavala asked.

“There’s a high potential that if the guardians have been captured, elsie might need to fight for them” Anne nodded “it depends on the situation and what they might have done” she looked thoughtful “although I’m surprised we haven’t heard a distress signal”.

Skye raised her hand “I helped set up some proper defences, it’s probably blocked if they are in the depths of the settlement”.

Zavala sighed “without the context... you’ve participated in treason against the city” he looked defeated.

“Sorry sir... I was intending on looking after the situation myself” she admitted “but after six months... I haven’t had the chance” Skye sighed “it was intended to be a way to ensure both parties could get along, I could subtly keep the guardians away, and keep the fallen away from the guardians... hopefully less death”.

“While I admire the thought... you could have spoken to the vangard” Ikora offered.

Skye looked uncomfortable “well... the vanguard isn’t always known to react... well... to these kinds of situations... and we were already in trouble so I thought, since I’m already taking a bullet anyway, I’d make sure I could protect as many as I can” she admitted.

The vanguard seemed stumped for a moment before Ikora nodded “well let’s make this the last surprise shall we, in any and all future matters, please let us know so we can offer our assistance”.

“Of course” Skye nodded.

“Considering, the situation... would one of you be able to stay close in case something comes up?” Ikora asked.

Skye nodded “I haven’t seen as much as Anne, but I can hang around” she promised before looking to Anne “I could come get you when I’m ready to go if you like, which will be when it’s safe...” she sighed “unless something happens but... it is elsie” she admitted.

Anne nodded and stood “it’s either going to be a breeze, or she will get in over her head... it’s always a gamble” she mused “but I’m going to pack and get this one ready” she looked to gilder “come on you, I’ll get you ready to go too”.

Gilder looked excited “yes mame” she replied happily.

“You can call me if elsie does something weird, there’s a chance I may have seen it maybe” Anne added before leaving “have fun I suppose...”.

Skye and the vanguard nodded before settling into more conversation. Elsie was well and truly gone by that point, she’d slipped home to pick up a few things before wasting no time to jump in her ship and take off, following the proper procedures.


	17. Return to the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misraaks is eager to see his one and only guardian captain's return.

It was pretty boring as flights went, nothing really happened, she took the time to put on her fallen armour which over the time of skyes use had picked up a few marks. In particular, the marks of the house of dusk had been painted on in places and Skye had added a few upgrades. She was about ten minutes out before sparks appeared looking confused.

“You have a video request... they do know your busy right?” She muttered “do you want to take it? It’s hope...”.

Elsie nodded with a sigh, she was fully armoured at this point but she figured it wouldn’t bother Skye to see her like that. After a moment, a video feed popped up in the corner of the screen.

“Hey bear, I know your busy, but where are you?” Skye asked carefully.

Elsie took a second to check her co ordinates “well about ten minutes away, I’ll have sparks send through the rest, what’s wrong?”.

Skye looked a bit awkward “well I was just wondering if you could drop by the fallen tower, I’ll send you the co-ordinates but we just want to know if the guardian ships are still there... is that ok?”.

Elsie took a moment to check how out of the way it was before nodding “I’m late anyway, yeah I can do that” she sighed “was that all?”.

Skye bit her lip “well, uh, would you mind if we watched your feed? The vanguard is concerned for you among other things” she admitted.

Elsie looked thoughtful “sure, but they can’t be freaking out if I have to make some decisions on the fly” she replied.

“I can assure you, the vanguard will not judge your choices” Ikora spoke as she approached the feed.

Elsie looked a bit surprised “oh, uh... your there... apologies...” she cleared her throat “I would have taken my helmet off...”.

“Oh no, it’s fine, I must admit, you fit the part” Ikora admitted with amusement “but we thought it polite to ask, we’d like to use this opportunity to gather intel on the house and perhaps we may learn to understand the fallen better”.

Elsie adjusted the ships course for a moment before chuckling “thank you, but as long as you don’t use the information against them, sure, you might even see a decent fight, who knows...” she nodded “Well I’ll leave the formalities to sparks, you guys can talk, I’ll just do the flying, I’ll see you when I see you”.

Sparks took over after that and after a quick flyby, they found the missing guardians ships still waiting for the return of their owners. This satusfied the vanguard and she continued on her way and it wasn’t long before the massive factory appeared in the distance and she slowed to judge how the fallen would react. As she circled the building, sparks pointed out a large fallen captain that hung off a large radio tower on the roof so elsie banked so she could show him the large lion emblazoned on her ship, indicating who she was. She then left the ship in sparks hands as she was transmatted down onto the roof, her hands up in a show of peace. 

The captain seemed to watch the ship come in for landing before climbing down smoothly and elsie got down on her knee in a respectful bow. The captain seemed torn for a moment before nodded and crouching “captain returns... trying times guardian, came just in time” he mused.

Elsie looked up “I’m sorry it’s been so long... the vanguard had me chained to the city” she admitted “it wasn’t fun, but I had no choice but to be good” she stood with a chuckle “you look bigger than when we left” she mused as she offered her hand.

Mithrax chuckled “affect of ether, kell is enriched, grows bigger than crew” he took elsies hand in two and shook it, even crouching, he stood higher than elsie now.

“I don’t think I could fight you anymore” elsie joked.

Mithrax laughed at that “of course could, would be fun” he assured “but speaking of, your guardians, came to house and attacked, captured guardians, is problem for captain to solve, many unhappy eliksni, don’t trust guardians”. 

Elsie nodded “what do you want?”.

“Hmmm, well... eliksni want guardians to suffer, these bad guardians, attack without understanding, however, you were once bad guardian, misraaks propose that captain take responsibility for guardians” he nodded thoughtfully “two birds with one stone as human say, eliksni wish you to fight for title” he admitted. 

Elsie crossed her arms “well, I uh... sure, I can do that, just tell me how” she nodded “I haven’t picked up all the rules yet” she admitted. 

“Good, misraaks like captain, does not shy away from fight” he chuckled “looking forward to see captains fight...” he looked almost excited.

“There’s just one thing I feel I have to mention because it’s polite” elsie sighed “I am alone, but I am also not, Skye and the vanguard, they are watching my feed, so they can see some things and while I’m ok with it, this is your house, and I wanted to tell you before we went too far”.

Misraaks looked surprised “ah, your vanguard can hear and see?” He leaned in curiously “the same vanguard who would punish captain so fiercely for protecting her friend?”.

Elsie nodded “the very same, in fact, I need to talk to you about that later, they wish to offer a treaty or something of the type”.

Mithrax looked amused “ah, your vanguard is quite shady... misraaks was under impression that they stood for good... but they act like archon... friendly to get what want, but will they return the gesture? Hmm” he chuckled “I will let your vanguard watch on one condition”.

Elsie smiled “shoot away”.

“Wish to meet this.. vanguard... who would send someone in their stead... is it mere cowardice or fear? Perhaps it’s something else... but vanguard must prove themselves like every other... visitor...” he put a hand on Elsie’s shoulder “we discuss later, I have things to teach my young captain”.

Elsie nodded with a laugh “young? How sweet of you Mithrax, teach away”.

The captain stood and towered over elsie “normally eliksni learn hard way, learn by seeing and fighting, you did not, can fight but do not know customs so I teach important ones” he looked around thoughtfully “did captain bring her weapons?”.

“Of course” elsie smiled “I never go anywhere without them”.

“Good, will start with how to challenge eliksni” he mused “normally, eliksni do not challenge such difference in rank... only highest of eliksni can challenge kell and must have support of sizeable crew but you... your crew is gone, Anne, Skye considered your crew” he explained “not very high ranked crew, so could not challenge for kellship and be respected, however, I teach regardless” Mithrax settled a few strides away in a crouch “to challenge he kell honourably, would approach with supporters” he pulled out his swords which looked quite scary combined with his size and he set them in the ground with a growl “make action to show intent to win, intent to kill”.

Elsie looked a little nervous “I’m not actually challenging you right?” Elsie checked with a chuckle “because frankly you are terrifying”.

Mithrax laughed “no, actions now mean nothing” he assured.

“Right” elsie nodded and in her hands, her swords appeared and she copied a little unsure “this kinda looks like what I did with that captain I fought”.

Mithrax nodded “unknowingly accepted challenge” he mused “did well, in this action, he challenged with his blades and you agreed with rules, only sheer strength, no tricks or weaponry” he nodded “when one challenges with swords, it is mutual agreement that will match opponents choice of weapon, one can challenge with shrapnel launcher, much less interesting fight, means can only rely on skill of weapon rather than strength”.

“Huh, well that’s good to know...” elsie nodded “so is there anything else I should know?”.

“Once opponent matches your challenge, honourable opponents will wait until you are ready to fight” he raised his weapons to his sides at ready, the intention to fight was clear as his swords crackled with arc “will give signal, then will fight” he chuckled “easy for captain to understand yes?”.

Elsie chuckled “easy enough a dumb titan can understand” she assured “so then how do I know if I’ve won or lost, stupid question perhaps but I have no problem with dying, so is it different to me?”.

“You bring up good point” he admitted putting his swords away “guardian has ghost to bring back, eliksni do not” he looked thoughtful “some may consider cheating, others may relish the thought of killing guardians many times before admitting defeat, misraaks think would be foolish endeavour” he admitted “thinks most would consider your death as loss”.

“So what about light?” Elsie continued. 

“Eliksni would likely consider cheating also” he admitted “only use natural strength”. 

“So how do I know how an opponent would want to fight?” The titan asked thoughtfully “for example, I do manage to win a fight? What would happen”.

“Well depends if fighting death or not, some will drop their weapons, others will fight until they can’t fight anymore, whatever the reason be death or too weak to fight anymore” he chuckled.

“Sounds easy...” elsie admitted “ok, so that’s one thing sorted...” she looked thoughtful “how about the... guests... how should we deal with that?”.

“Hmm, complicated problem, easiest way to claim as part of crew, captain should punish if the eliksni accept; otherwise may have to fight for your guardians...” he nodded “must approach me in front of eliksni to start with, but whatever happens” he leaned in “don’t hesitate... be ruthless, eliksni will not go easy on you” he stood “follow” he chuckled before heading into the building.

Elsie followed as ordered and the kell now had to duck a bit as he went through the doors but he was more nimble than he looked as he slipped into the main building effortlessly. Elsie was immediately greeted with uneasy stares from any eliksni they passed and as they reached the entrance to the throne room, Mithrax let out a loud commanding cry before continuing. Captains in particular eyed her carefully but no one bothered her as she followed Mithrax to the throne room. 

The kell settled into his throne comfortably and eliksni seemed to follow them both, starting to linger in the room with interest. Elsie looked uncomfortable but kneeled with respect. The kell seemed to wait for the eliksni to gather before his gaze rested on the titan “welcome back to house light, captain... you were gone for long time and in your absence, eliksni have become curious... however that can wait... you as guardian would be interested in events that happened in your absence...” he nodded “fellow guardians were found by gift from Skye, they used gift to find and attack house light, lost many eliksni...” he looked interested “what is opinion on this?”.

Elsie looked uncomfortable, she could feel the eyes boring into her and she realised just how shaken the house had become, she almost felt unsafe but after a moment, she stood confidently “I did not play any part, however I feel guilty that I was unable to help or come sooner” she looked to Mithrax “how many of them attacked?”.

“There were six...” he replied.

“Were any of them killed?” Elsie continued carefully, trying her best to ignore the judgement she could feel taking place around her.

“All were, however, they all had ghost... so all alive and captured, your friend helped greatly, gave fallen way to capture guardians without harming further... lucky misraaks kind... however, kindness is limited and captain must fix this” he nodded “what will you do? What can you offer in return for what we have lost”.

Elsie thought about it for a moment with a sense of dread, if she defended the guardians, she could become an enemy, if she chose the fallen, the vanguard could call her a traitor. She finally nodded “while I cannot allow my fellow guardians to be killed permanently... I understand how the eliksni must feel, I cannot give you your men back, however I can assure you protection in the future. there will be no further attacks from the guardians if you allow me to act as peace keeper. I have already spoken to my leaders and they want to make peace, perhaps this can be a start?” She looked around at the eliksni.

The eliksni were quiet before many of them stood and let out animalistic growls and grunts, clearly speaking and a captain stood to separate from the crowd and let out an angry growl motioning to elsie as he spoke to Mithrax. 

The Kell listened to the complaints quietly before nodding “the eliksni think this unfair to let guardians take but not give... do not want to simply give to captain elsie...”.

Elsie looked nervous “that’s fair” she admitted “what could I do in return”.

The captain looked elsie up and down before continuing to speak and the crowd agreed with animalistic cries, Mithrax nodded “eliksni think I’m too kind... question why I respect you so...” he chuckled “question why I haven’t killed you yet for allowing eliksni to die... is elsie truly ally?”.

Elsie was prepared for the words but her heart sunk regardless “how can I prove my alliance?”.

Mithrax turned to the captain and spoke and after a short exchange, his gaze searched the room thoughtfully before he called out loudly, the room responded eagerly and he turned his attention to elsie “fight for your right to stand here... show eliksni why you wear our colours” he looked amused.

Elsie didn’t hesitate to pull out her swords and stabbed them into the ground before punching her palm invitingly “fine, what happens if I win or lose”.

Mithrax shifted excitedly “elsie wins.... keeps title, guardians become your property and responsibly... if they attack further, you will suffer in their stead” he chuckled “you lose without proving yourself? You will lose right to wear colours and guardians will stay until you can earn right to lead them, your vanguard will need to support your claim”.

“Deal” elsie nodded.

Mithrax looked pleased and gave a nod to the captain who turned to walk out to stand in front of elsie with a threatening growl, responding with his own swords.

Elsie looked thoughtful before holding her hand to the side “sparks, I got this, watch from the sidelines ok”.

The ghost appeared in her hand looking afraid “what are you?”.

“Go, it’s fine, this is going to be a fair fight” she nodded “you can revive me when this is over” she shifted to take hold of her swords and looked defensive. 

Sparks seeing that arguing was pointless, moved safely away from the two and Mithrax looked a bit surprised but motioned the ghost over “come... sparks is it?”.

“Uh yeah...” she muttered shyly as she floated over, she was awfully small now compared to the kell.

“Misraaks protect you” he assured and offered his hand “lets watch your warrior fight” he mused. Sparks settled carefully in his hand and he held her gently but protectively, the fallen had eyes her carefully but seeing Mithrax look after her, they instantly seemed less interested and turned back to the fight.

Once sparks was safe, elsie gave a nod and clutched her swords a bit tighter. last time she’d fought, she hadn’t really ever used two swords before but she had been practicing and while she hadn’t been out of the city, she had used the time on the wall to practice to kill some boredom and she wasn’t perfect but she was confident. 

The captain faced her with similar intent and returned a nod and it was barely a moment before it threw itself into an attack; it raised its hand to bring it down heavily onto the titan and elsie moved to block instantly. The captain however was almost expecting that as it moved to impale the titan with its other sword and elsie managed to dodge it mostly however she felt the sword cut into her side making her stagger slightly. Elsie jumped back to regroup but the captain seemed to revel in her retreat, following just as quickly. For a moment, elsie was having trouble defending herself since she was a little out of shape but despite taking a few cuts and blows, she started to turn the fight as she learned how that captain fought and after a few minutes, elsie managed her first major blow.

She dodged out of the way of the captains attack barely but she used the captains momentum to thrust her armoured knee into the captains stomach and almost instantly the captain staggered with shock, up until this point elsie had barely been able to touch him so he clearly wasn’t expecting an attack of that magnitude from the sluggish titan. Elsie however didn’t let up long enough for the captain to recover and she jumped up to thrust and elbow into the captains back making it drop looking stunned. Elsie finally finished up with another knee to its head and the captain crumpled to the side with a pained growl. 

elsie took the brief time to catch her breath as after a moment, The captain stood unsteadily and it growled with anger as it moved into more quick and brutal attacks, however elsie was starting to keep up and with the brutal first attack, the captain did seem slightly slower and a bit less stable. 

The captain however remained as deadly as ever and as they continued to trade blows, the captain managed to throw Elsie’s balance off long enough for its blades to dig into Elsie’s stomach making her stagger with surprise and groan with pain. As the captain freed his blades, elsie dropped to her knees breathlessly and the room seemed to go quiet as if waiting for elsie to let her swords go and the captain waited with anticipation. 

After a moment, elsie lifted herself to her feet and chuckled “I’m not done yet buddy” she mused as she took a defensive pose, her stomach was now starting to bleed but she seemingly wasn’t bothered. 

The captain looked almost impressed as he chuckled and easily fell into step attacking the titan once more and it was another few minutes of an agressive back and forth. Elsie clearly took more hits out of the two but the captain was clearly starting to get affected by the Wounds the titan had given and this appeared to be what elsie was waiting for.

As the captains attacks became more predictable, elsie took advantage of the confidence and after lulling the captain into false security, she would suddenly change her attack pattern and throw the captain off, damaging it severely in the process. she did this a few times until she finally ducked past another of the captains attacks. she kicked one of the captains knees out making it collapse with surprise and elsie rounded it out by making the captain lose its balance while it was still unsteady. She finally kicked the captain onto its back before holding it there with her boot heavily, the tip of the blade rested against the captains throat.

The captain gave her a long glare before letting out a low growl and it let go of its swords. seeing this, elsie put hers away before offering her hands to the captain up. It seemed indecisive before reluctantly taking her hands and as it stood unsteadily, retrieving its blades, he gave a nod. Elsie returned the gesture and put a hand tenderly to her stomach with a quiet pained whimper before collapsing weakly. she pulled her helmet off to cough up blood. 

Mithrax looked amused “well done captain... fine effort indeed” he looked around at the fallen before speaking to them and the crowd seemed a little shocked at how the fight turned out. After a brief bit of thought, the crowd all seemed to agree on the decision and Mithrax nodded “elsie deserves her title, captain of the light”.

Elsie chuckled weakly “thank you”. 

“Go, heal your warrior” Mithrax mused to sparks “it’s safe now” he assured.

Sparks didn’t waste anytime to fly over and started scanning the titan with worry “I could have healed you!” She complained weakly.

Elsie coughed heavily before spitting more blood “that would have been unfair... I’ll be alright” she promised.

“Your dying!” Sparks argued with defeat.

Elsie chuckled “it’s fine” she smiled. Sparks despite her unhappiness about the situation, simply focused on healing and elsie managed to stay awake despite looking exhausted. After a few minutes, she once more dragged herself to her feet to approach Mithrax, the captain she had fought lingered in the crowd quietly as they looked at the titan with respect. 

“Misraaks Impressed once more, captain still sharp...” he mused before looking to the eliksni and while there were a few comments, no one seemed to want to argue anymore “chose to fight without ghosts help... admirable choice, indeed...” he nodded “well deal is deal, you win right to stay with eliksni as captain of light, and more importantly... the guardians are yours” he mused. 

Elsie nodded “thank you, I will take responsibility for all further guardians” she promised “if they attack again, then I will suffer the consequences, in their stead”. She coughed up some more blood before putting her helmet on, sparks had mostly healed her now, there was just a lot of blood out of place now. 

Mithrax nodded “good, one hopes your vanguard understands your actions today” he stood and swept the eliksni away with an Order before crouching in front of elsie “elsie wounded?”.

Elsie shook her head “no, sparks fixed it” she assured “I’m just tired from the fight”.

“Ah, well Elsie proved self, misraaks carry you to rest?” He asked.

“Oh no, I can’t rest yet, I need to get these guardians home if I can” elsie replied.

“Hmm, then allow misraaks to help, will return your crew to ships as long as behave” he promised.

“Aren’t I supposed to look strong?” Elsie asked.

“No, have done enough now” Mithrax assured “eliksni will not be so quick to challenge captain now” he chuckled and offered his hand “I take to guardians”.

Elsie nodded with a sigh, she could have quite easily curled up and fell asleep but she knew her job wasn’t finished so despite the bruises and sleep pulling at her. She offered her hand and Mithrax lifted her effortlessly into a hug, holding her securely. As he stood, it became clearer just how big he was and he begun to walk through the factory quickly now that he wasn’t being slowed down by Elsie’s human size.

He ducked through rooms and doorways before finally reaching an area that was away from everything else and mithrax crouched to put elsie back on her feet. “Your friend Skye helped make this room to stop the light” he explained as he approached an average looking door and he pressed a hand to a large pad that took up a huge portion of the wall. There was a click as the door was presumably unlocked.

Elsie looked amused “ah, Skye is surprisingly scary for someone who is so easy to overwhelm” she approached the door “shut the door until I can figure this out ok?”. Mithrax gave a nod and with that, elsie opened the door.

As elsie looked in, there were five guardians sitting against the far wall looking scared and downtrodden. On seeing elsie, they put their hands up showing the intention not to hurt so elsie moved inside, they must of had a plan however as soon as she was inside, there was a deafening bang and elsie staggered back into the door closing it so it could lock again.

A hunter moved to stand in front of elsie as she slid to the ground clutching her side “let us out of here!” He ordered

Elsie chuckled “sorry, I can’t do that”. 

The hunter looked briefly uncertain before aiming the weapon at her head “what are you?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful, currently she looked like she’d been through hell. She was covered in blood, sparks hadn’t fixed her armour yet so there were dent in places and her helmet was particularly filthy “you wouldn’t believe me if I told you so shoot away, your going to rot in here unless you behave” she assured.

The guardians looked indecisive as if they were unsure of what she was “try it...” the hunter threatened. 

“I’m a guardian” elsie mused before coughing.

“Fallen cannot be guardians...” the hunter replied “when we get out of here, I’m going to bring down hell on this place” he spat before there was an ominous bang.

Elsie simply nodded before letting the darkness take her. The hunter wasted no time to drag elsie out of the way only to find the door was locked again and he let out an angry cry “no! Let us out!”.

A titan from the group walked over to elsie carefully “hey... this armour is familiar” he muttered as he crouched down “this is tangled shore titans armour...”

The hunter looked annoyed “it probably stole it, so what?”.

“No, seriously, I don’t think this is a captain” the titan continued before carefully figuring out how to take Elsie’s helmet off and he paused on seeing the beautiful awoken woman, dead on the floor “she’s awoken...”.

Elsie was dull, the light that danced under her skin was gone and she looked as if she’d been amused before she died and sparks appeared carefully at her shoulder “if you idiots are done, can I revive her?” She asked carefully.

The guardians looked shocked and pulled back in various moods of angry and upset and after a moment, elsie gasped to life and sat up with a groan “so we are done here right? No more wild shotguns or anything?”.

“What the hell are you doing?” The hunter asked with anger “why are you dressed like them? Your covered with the house of dusk!”.

Elsie laughed “that’s because I’m a captain of this house” she got to her feet and looked to the hunter and asked over to him “that was rude” she muttered before thrusting her knee into the hunters stomach and pushing him off his feet “seriously, you are going to get yourselves killed for good, I am the only way your getting out of here” she spit up some more blood “right, so I just fought so I can claim you as my crew, got it? So I’m in charge and as long as you behave, I can get you out of here and safely back to the tower”.

“I don’t understand” a warlock muttered “what do you mean your a part of this house? You just fought for us? Is that why you look like shit?”.

“Rude, I am a lady, but yes” she sighed “these are weird fallen, the leader in particular is more merciful than any other fallen I’ve come across and he believes that the guardians and fallen could work together, which is why, despite your rampage, he kept you alive until i could get here to fix this, got it?”

“Why does you being here matter?” The warlock replied.

Elsie looked frustrated “i am an ally of the fallen, I’m a ranked captain, this helmet?” She picked it up to show them “I earned this myself through fallen ways, just trust me, I am friends with them and it doesn’t matter why as long as I get you guys out of here, and yes the vanguard knows” she added “now here’s the plan, you are now my crew, as long as you disarm completely and do not threaten anymore fallen, me and the kell outside is going to escort you back to your ships and you are to report to the vanguard for further explanation, easy right?”.

“Your crew?” The hunter asked with irritation “why would I follow you? For all we know, you could have abandoned the city”

Elsie gave him a look “if you don’t, I can’t promise you will survive this, I have to play by the fallen rules”. She put her helmet back on “now, everyone got the picture?”.

“So to get out of here, we need to not fight?” The titan clarified “we just need to follow your orders?”.

“Easy right?” Elsie mused. The guardians nodded reluctantly and she offered a hand to the hunter who begrudgingly allowed her to help him up. Elsie then went to the door and knocked.

The door unlocked and elsie pulled it open and Mithrax crouched in wait “is captain ok?”.

“Yeah, I think you missed a weapon, that’s all” elsie assured “sparks revived me, so it’s fine, it was refreshing almost”. She then looked to the guardians “if you make any aggressive moves, I will kill you myself” she threatened “I have to protect the house, now, follow me closely”.

Mithrax watched with amusement “go to skiff, will return guardians to ships as promised”.

It was a tense walk as the captured guardians followed elsie. The eyes of the settlement followed their every step in judgemental silence and as they reached the hangar, the guardians seemed surprised to see elsies ship there casually. Mithrax let out some orders and after a few minutes, the guardians were led into the ship and held in the captains quarters. After ensuring everything was fine, elsie returned to the guardians who looked at her with unease.

“So what the hell is this” the hunter asked.

Elsie sat down thoughtfully “do you remember those three guardians that went awol and got punished for it?”.

“Yeah, they are still under arrest from what I heard” he nodded. 

Elsie chuckled “I’m one of them, our punishment ended today and good timing too” she nodded “while we were awol, we befriended the house of light and I did a few favours for Mithrax” she shrugged “look, just have the vanguard explain the situation, it’s complicated and all you need to know is that guardians are considered as part of my crew, so I’ll look after you guys as long as you follow my orders” she leaned against the wall with a tired sigh.

“Are you ok?” The titan asked.

“Yeah” elsie nodded “I had to take on a captain with shock swords, not as easy as you’d think” she mused.

Sparks appeared and looked at the others before looking to elsie “hey uh, speaking of... do think it’s possible for the eliksni to uh... wait around?”.

“Why?” Elsie asked.

“Well, the vanguard is coming to meet the guardians and uh... Mithrax...” she looked awkward “they want to check you and the others are ok, not to mention, I think they disliked being called cowardly by Mithrax”.

Elsie laughed “I’ll talk to him then, but I almost would have paid to see the reaction” she admitted “so what, these guys have to wait too?”. At sparks nod, elsie looked over to the others “the vanguard has ordered you to hang around for a bit, I’ll be back” she sighed and got up, leaving to go talk to Mithrax.


	18. Kell's VS The Vanguard

It was quiet and awkward as the guardians grumbled at their situation but eventually the skiff came to a stop, no one came for them right away however and the door was blocked off by a blue force field, the ghosts couldn’t transmat them out either as there was an active signal blocker somewhere that kept their ghosts confused. When elsie finally returned to let them out, she motioned them to follow “come, the vanguard is here” she explained before leading the way through the ship full of fallen. 

The guardians were more than happy to escape the confines of the ship and they followed suit as elsie dropped out of the ship and landed before walking towards a hawk that had settled behind the rest of the guardian ships. The first to appear was a warlock who sprinted to elsie and pulled her into a tight hug and started fussing over her.

“Are you ok bear? Your a mess... sparks is fine right? I saw you fight without her” Skye muttered with worry. 

Elsie chuckled “I’m fine, you worry too much” she mused and cuddled her. It didn’t take long for the warlocks company to catch up, Zavala and Ikora followed by Anne approached.

Zavala eyed the Titans armour before nodding “that was impressive, well done elsie, it’s good to see everyone alive and healthy” he gave the other guardians a nod “please stay so we can speak with you about certain matters, your welcome to wait in your ships if that’s more confortable”.

The guardians gave various nods and salutes before dispersing among their ships leaving just the vanguard and the three guardians and Anne pulled elsie into a hug “your as frightening as ever” she teased.

Elsie growled playfully and returned the gesture before looking to the child strapped to her chest “I wonder if she even remembers..” she mused “are you guys staying?”.

“That was the intention” Anne nodded “if Mithrax still likes us of course” she mused.

“You might have to ask” elsie mused.

“Speaking of Mithrax... he seems to think lowly of the vanguard” Zavala spoke questioningly “why?”.

They were interrupted as fallen started to jump down from the skiff followed by Mithrax who landed heavily and on straightening up, he towered over the fallen around him and he stepped forward to look at the vanguard with judgement “is this your vanguard... the great leaders of guardians...” he looked amused “somewhat... disappointing...” he admitted with a chuckle.

The vanguard looked indecisive as they chose how to respond. Elsie turned to face him “as polite as ever” she teased “they may not look like much but neither do I” she assured.

“This is true” Mithrax agreed before crouching and eyeing Skye and Anne “has friends been freed from punishment also?” He asked.

They nodded and Anne smiled “mostly, we still have a leash but otherwise, free as a bird”.

“And how is your pup? Kyraas was it?” He asked curiously.

Anne smiled “well I’d say she got bigger but so did you, so she’s probably the same to you” she mused. 

“Ah, is she strong enough to play yet?” Mithrax mused.

“Yes and no” Anne chuckled “not like eliksni pups but she is getting there”.

“Humans are strange” he nodded “weak for such a long time, facinating... even beasts seem to grow quicker” he observed “curious considering strength with light, and must die before becoming strong... very backwards” he chuckled “will friends be joining misraaks?”.

“That’s up to you, do you still like us?” Anne asked playfully.

“Of course... in fact you in particular... wish to see what legendary hunter can do” he admitted looking interested “surely you can show misraaks your tricks now?”.

Anne nodded “as long as someone can babysit, yeah, I need to get back in shape anyway” she mused “you wouldn’t by chance be interested in helping babysit?”.

Mithrax smiled “of course”. The vanguard was silent as they watched the casual conversation, it seemed as though they had never seen anything like it before and as Mithrax turned his attention back to the vanguard, he stood. “For leaders... very quiet...” he nodded “speak”.

Zavala was the first to speak after a moment “I am under the understanding that you are Mithrax? The leader of the house of light?”.

The kell nodded “yes” he replied “and you are the vanguard... however, should there not be three of you... I thought there were three types of guardian...”.

A flicker of sadness showed through the group and Ikora nodded “there should be, however, we lost the hunter vanguard quite some time ago... please, my name is Ikora Ray, I am the warlock vanguard and it’s a pleasure to meet you” she bowed her head politely.

Mithrax looked her up and down “leader of friend Skye... most important of world breakers...” he looked thoughtful “different than expected” he admitted before turning to Zavala “and you... you are awoken like friends... must be titan vanguard...”.

Zavala nodded “you can call me commander Zavala” he replied with a nod “I am the leader of the Titans, however both Ikora and I oversee all guardian operations in the system, Ikora specialises in informing the vanguard and I give the orders”.

Mithrax looked amused “ah, so would you be responsible for attacking my house then? Or even worse, sending one lone guardian to fix it for you?” He chuckled.

Zavala looked uncomfortable, anything he said could be twisted and he knew it “I will take responsibly for ensuring it doesn’t happen again” he nodded stiffly “while the guardians acted mostly on their own, they were doing as they were trained too” he admitted “I apologise for any loss you many have received”.

Mithrax seemed to be enjoying pressuring the vanguard “hmm, and of course my friends here... they were punished very well after doing something that very few could, earning a fallen house’s favour”.

“While I accept that they did well... an example must be made when guardians break protocol in the same way they did” zavala replied “I’m sure you understand, you must treat your fallen alike or they may want to take your position and all hell will break loose” he looked frustrated “I shouldn’t need to explain myself to you”.

Ikora quickly stepped forward “I understand how you might feel after everything you may have heard, but I assure you, we don’t lead without having to make hard choices, we must decide on what will be the best for all”.

Mithrax nodded “Misraaks can understand, but it is enjoyable questioning you” he mused “captain spoke of the vanguard wanting to become an ally, what can you offer me? I offer friendship... so that we find guardians and not have to kill for safety... after all, I must allow my house to be protected”.

The vanguard looked unsure “what could we possibly give you to make our intention clear?” Zavala asked.

“Elsie fought for eliksni despite her prior decision to fight... saved eliksni and almost gave life for... offered her services without being asked” he nodded “later, showed strength and will to understand, to fight in ways of fallen without questioning... she put her life on line to protect those who had nothing to do with her and did so in ways of old” he chuckled “elsie fought claw and nail for her position today... I wonder if you saw?” He mused.

Zavala nodded “we saw it... we were impressed” he assured “elsie continues to surprise the vanguard”.

“What of Skye and Anne?” Ikora asked carefully.

Mithrax nodded “Skye is not strong fighter but her strengths lie in other places, offered to help protect house of light from the very guardians she aligns herself with despite the consequences and in Elsie’s absence, she gave her best to where elsie used too...” he put a hand on skyes shoulder “very helpful in own way” he assured “may never reach captain but certainly is one of favourite regardless”.

He then looked to Anne “as for Anne... has not had chance to properly prove herself, however when misraaks found Anne, she fought with everything she had until she could no longer and set her pride aside to admit defeat for the well being of her pup” he chuckled “saw chance for understanding and friend offered it in return. when elsie came to protect, protected both her friend and eliksni with her actions, showed remarkable strength and wisdom and all to bring pup into world safely” he looked thoughtful “hunters not known for kindness... eliksni fear hunters, known as death bringers but this one just wanted to do whatever she could to survive, an ideal the eliksni understand, looking forward to seeing her strength but she has proven she can be trusted despite her nature”.

Zavala looked thoughtful “We can start with ensuring that your settlement remains undisturbed by guardians from this point on, any guardian beside those you specifically are ok with will be punished for entering the area surrounding your settlement unless they have a good reason, I am not sure if there is much else that I can offer you that Skye has not already done” he admitted “we would offer supplies but I am under the understanding that fallen require different supplies than guardians...”

Mithrax nodded “eliksni can serve themselves, survive on ether unlike guardians, however, will accept truce with guardians, guardians leave eliksni be, eliksni do the same” he finally stepped over to crouch down in front of the vanguard “eliksni will give opportunity for guardians to not fight however will defend ourselves if necessary, guardians leave eliksni to business”.

“We will have figure out a way to differentiate the house of light from other houses” Ikora looked thoughtful.

Skye walked over quietly “uh, sorry to interrupt, but I have an idea” on getting the threes attention, she continued “what if we gave the eliksni devices that they could put in their ships or maybe the leaders can hold or something, but it puts out a signal that the ghosts can read and it will indicate friendly eliksni versus not friendly eliksni”.

Mithrax looked unsure “would guardians use to track eliksni?”.

“Well you could use it like that but not necessarily, I just wouldn’t add the tracking programs and it would be just like wearing a badge or cloak that says I won’t kill you if you don’t kill me” Skye assured.

“As long as device does not bring harm to eliksni, sounds good” Mithrax nodded.

Ikora nodded thoughtfully “it’s easy to organise on our end, and once the message is out, the ghosts would keep the guardians in check, it would however take some time to put together” she admitted.

Zavala nodded “so be it, for now, we will settle with keeping guardians away from your home, as soon as we have made the devices then perhaps we can meet again” he offered his hand “I hope to work with you in the future”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “hmm, yes, misraaks would like to work with guardians...” he nodded and took Zavala’s hand and shook “friendship is tenuous, but it may grow strong in time”. He then looked to ikora “Ikora is it? You stand with... your commander?”.

Ikora nodded “yes I do” she looked thoughtful “I would like to offer a direct line to the vanguard network if you’d like it it. if anything comes up and you need to speak with us, you can use this line to message commander Zavala or myself and we will respond to the best of our ability”.

“Hmm, sounds similar to friends line...” Mithrax looked thoughtful “so be it” he nodded before looking curious “my friends here a fireteam.... as they say, are you both the same?” He asked.

They looked surprised at the question “yes... we are, why do you ask” Zavala replied.

“Just an observation” Mithrax mused “seem to know each other’s thoughts without question, resembles watching elsie and her friends.... do guardians prefer staying in.. fireteams?”.

Ikora gave a small smile “there is very few things that guardians do alone, there is safety in numbers. however personal fireteams are generally considered different” she looked to the three guardians “these three are quite a powerful fireteam... it appears they have been working together for quite a long time and their loyalty to each other knows no bounds” she chuckled “they defended each other until the end and took the punishment for it without question, however on the field, their understanding of each other’s work ethics allows for a smooth and devastating affect”.

Zavala nodded “there are many fireteams similar to them but none that work so well” he looked to Ikora “as for our fireteam... it used to be three, but times change. I’d like to think we remain a strong fireteam, even leaders can’t do it on their own sometimes”.

The kell nodded “guardians not so different to eliksni” he admitted “was that all vanguard wanted?”.

“We must return to the city” Zavala nodded “but it has been... pleasant” he admitted before giving a nod to Mithrax “until next time” he finished and turned to return to the hawk, Ikora followed suit although she was clearly quite interested in talking further.

The kell then turned to the three who stood watching thoughtfully “friends returning with Mithrax?”.

They nodded before Anne grabbed Elsie’s hand “would you mind grabbing my bags for me?” She asked “I’ll make it up to you”.

Elsie nodded “easy, lead the way” she mused.

The fallen had watched the situation carefully but as Mithrax stood to get ready to got, the fallen returned to the skiff carefully, watching over the extra guardians in the area, Mithrax helped the guardians up into the ship to make this easier before the skiff faded into the sky to head home and the three guardians found themselves in the captains quarters.

Elsie sat against the wall tiredly “I thought you were going to wait for the all clear?” Elsie mused.

Skye sighed “well we were but Anne was ready to go and Mithrax kinda got under the vanguards skin when he started insulting them and calling them cowards....” she admitted.

Elsie laughed “oh yeah, I forgot about that”.

Skye shifted over to take the Titans helmet off “you fought well, we watched you and I was worried for a moment” she admitted as she put a hand on the Titans check, blood had dried on her lips and chin as well as on her cheeks where she’d accidentally smeared it in trying clean up. “your filthy..” Skye sighed.

“I haven’t had a chance to tidy up yet, I died today you know” she muttered. 

“Wait, you did? When...” Skye asked “we didn’t see you die?”.

“One of the guardians killed me... thought I was a captain and tried to escape but he only managed to trap me inside with them” she nodded “they were quite surprised to discover I was an awoken guardian” she mused “it sucked though”.

Skye shook her head “if only they realised what you did for them” she pulled out a cloth to start tidying the Titans face lovingly “I’m so proud of you, your terrifying” she smiled.

Elsie enjoyed the attention with a content sigh “it was kinda fun to be honest... last time I fought a captain, I technically lost but this time, I won... although, one more good hit and I would have lost” she admitted “I’m feeling it all now”.

“Well when we get back, maybe you can have some rest now that all the formalities are over... hopefully” Skye smiled. As she finished cleaning the blood away, she brought the titan into a loving kiss and elsie replied happily, pulling her into a hug. 

They were broken apart by Mithrax chuckling as he entered “ah, looks like Skye did want elsie as mate” he mused, settling on the floor.

Skye blushed deeply “oh, uh... yeah...” she muttered. 

Elsie laughed with a blush “right... totally forgot it’s been a while...” she admitted “I decided to uh... as you put it... to see if Skye would want to be my... uh... mate” she chuckled.

Mithrax looked amused “misraaks curious, is there any point to mating for guardians? Eliksni mate to breed, but guardians... a pup seems inconvenient but even if wanted... neither you nor Skye could have pup? What is point?” He asked curiously. 

The two looked a bit embarrassed but elsie nodded “you bring up a lot of valid points, but honestly, we uh.... mate... because we can, its as simple as that” she admitted “it’s fun and provides us with... satisfaction I suppose, fighting is fun but sometimes it’s nice just to come home to a mate who can look after you”.

Skye nodded “the fact that we are both female... it’s true that we can’t have... pups... but we don’t want any... we just prefer each other to uh... males, it’s a personal... preference” she blushed. 

“Guardians quite impractical at times” he admitted thoughtfully.

“That’s a good way to put it” elsie smiled.

Skye shifted to cuddle up to Elsie’s side comfortably “so what did you think of our vanguard?”.

Mithrax was quiet for moment before replying “vanguard is... fine...” he looked unsure “looks no different to any other guardian... wonders how to become vanguard... what makes so special...”

Anne had been quiet up until now, relaxing a bit away as she left elsie and Skye to their lovers moment but she let out a chuckle “it depends on the vanguard, i think originally they were chosen from the most powerful leaders but I think the current vanguard just took over when the previous ones left or died... it’s somewhat of a hazardous position, as far as I know, the only formal agreement was that made by the hunter vanguards and I hesitate to call it formal... no one has taken over yet though...”.

“Ikora ray took over when Osiris left but she was his finest student I believe... he isn’t dead but he just has no intention to come back to work for the city... so I guess she... filled in really and they decided to keep her as the vanguard” Skye looked thoughtful “saying that though, there was a time that she was known to play crucible really well, she was her own terror in her time but she seems to have relaxed over the years, her power and understanding of the light is pretty legendary however” she sighed with admiration “now days after everything... she is very supportive of all guardians... kinda like the mother none of us had sometimes” she smiled.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “your commander... he is quite... unlikable...”.

This made the guardians laugh and elsie nodded “yeah, he means well but some say he is too cautious sometimes... kinda like an over protective father or something. he has been around for a very long time however so he is the best in his field, there’s a reason he is the leader of the vanguard. His light is nothing to scoff at either, he’s likely one of the strongest defenders around now... I believe he would have lost to saint-14”. she sighed “he is a bit stiff at the best of times... but he rules with an iron fist, keeps everything running smoothly even in chaos”.

“With leaders such as that... aren’t guardians tempted to over throw?” Mithrax asked.

“Not really, as a general rule, no one wants to get stuck in the tower for the rest of their life” Anne mused “which is why the hunter still has no vanguard”.

“Who leads hunters?” Mithrax looked curious.

“Ikora and Zavala do, however there’s a team of guardians who take over the duties that the hunter vanguard had” Anne sighed “it’s not nearly as entertaining as it used to be however...” she looked depressed.

“What killed hunter vanguard?” Mithrax looked curious.

“Uldren sov... brother of the lost awoken queen...” Anne looked distant.

“You speak of the poisoned eliksni... the scorned...” he looked disgusted “wolf prince went mad... heard was killed by hunter...” he chuckled “then surely, your hunter vanguard was cayde-6”.

Elsie looked surprised “yeah, you knew him.... and your not wrong, I know the hunter who killed him” she nodded.

“Cayde-6 known to eliksni, went quiet but used to catch him in underbelly of system, played cards well... got into trouble many times though... how did someone like that become hunter vanguard?” He looked amused.

Anne chuckled “he lost a bet and when the old vanguard was killed, he was forced to take over, got stuck in the tower and he despised it, he was good though, I miss his dumb jokes, made things more pleasant in the tower” she sighed.

“Hmm, everyone liked him” Skye agreed “Even the Titans and warlocks were affected”.

“Misraaks heard rumours that wolf prince had killed cayde-6, wasn’t sure whether to believe but believed that the mad prince was killed... without protection of queen, wondered if would survive... not a friend of many” he admitted “you say you knew guardian who killed prince?” Mithrax looked interested.

Elsie and Skye both loooked to Anne and the hunter nodded “it was me... I wanted vengeance... so I hunted him down... I took down each and every scorn leader myself until I got to him and it was over” she sighed.

“To think you are guardian who took down wolf prince and poisoned crew...” he chuckled “impressive... didn’t know was in presence of hunter legend... eliksni fear you... fear hunter will see something and choose to come for them...”

Anne chuckled “there’s nothing to fear from me currently, I’m out of shape with a baby, but it’s amusing to know my legend proceeds me... I hope I don’t have to start hiding from the fallen too, I already have to keep to myself around the guardians, I’m not about being worshipped” she admitted.

“Worshipped?” Elsie asked “since when do you have to hide from guardians? I thought you did that naturally”.

“When I was a new guardian, I escaped the cosmodrome by stealing this old crashed ship but I returned to kill the devil archon that lived there at the time, he had my warp drive” she mused “guardians thought I was pretty impressive after that and I didn’t want the attention” she admitted “it got worse when I went to the black garden, so I just disappeared for a while until people forgot who I was”.

“Woah, wait, your that hunter?!” Elsie asked with shock before laughing “no way”.

“It’s true, I am the one and only” Anne smiled “hold your applause” she sighed “I will cut you if that gets out” she muttered “I’m only just getting out of the spotlight again”.

Mithraaks looked impressed “the young hunter that killed riksis... very impressive indeed, looking forward to see you fight” he admitted “your fiends didn’t know?” He questioned.

“No way, Anne doesn’t like talking about herself” elsie smiled “I can barely get her to tell me about her day sometimes”.

Skye nodded with agreement “we choose not to push the point, we will know if it’s important to know”.

“How can friends trust?” He asked with amusement.

“Funny you should mention it... I disliked Anne for the longest time... I thought she was untrustworthy and shady. I felt like she would turn and stab me in the back one day but elsie assured me she was fine...” Skye smiled “you learn to love her, even if she does what she wants and walks the line sometimes, she usually has a good reason for it”.

“Usually” elsie agreed “she’s a great hunter to work with in any situation” she admitted “I learnt a lot from her about troop movements and ways around a dangerous situation, she just dislikes people, that’s all” she smiled “she just can’t escape from me”.

Anne rolled her eyes “no I can’t... Your the bane of my existence sometimes...” she gave a smile “your lucky I like you”. 

“Everyone likes me eventually” elsie mused. 

They were interrupted by a loud grinding sound and a crash as the skiff shuddered. Mithrax wasted no time to rush out of the room angrily and kyraas woke with a start and started crying. Elsie looked confused and followed Mithrax to check if they were under attack.

Anne attempted to calm the child but there was another loud groan and it was a minute or so before elsie rejoined them “the pilot hit the roof as we were landing” she sighed “you guys ok?”.

Anne looked defeated “yes... but I’ll have to calm miss down before I go anywhere” she sighed. 

“Well, I’ll take your stuff down if you like” elsie offered. 

“Thank you” Anne replied appreciatively as she tried to sooth the scared child. Skye offered to help elsie leaving Anne alone and pacing. It was a few minutes before the child reluctantly calmed and looked around with teary interest at the room resembling an animal den.

“Apologies, clumsy vandal... will be docked” Mithrax muttered, entering the room quietly “Anne fine?”. 

Anne turned and nodded “yeah, she just got surprised, that’s all...”. The young child was distracted until it saw Mithrax and then she looked unsure, almost like she wanted to be scared but also not. “Docked did you say?” She asked.

“Yes, punished... become dreg for stupidity” he growled with annoyance “skiff valuable” he eyed the child “ready to land? Misraaks help”.

Anne gave the girl a careful look “I think we can land now, but hopefully she doesn’t get too scared of you guys”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful and stepped forward carefully to crouch in front of them “has forgotten misraaks?”.

“Potentially... babies are thought to have very short memory” Anne sighed. 

Mithraaks carefully offered his hand looking curious “can see kyraas growth” he mused. 

The baby almost seemed to start crying before looking to her mother and Anne gave her a supportive kiss “it’s ok”. She gently moved a bit closer and kyraas after a long stare, reached out for the captains hand curiously, her little hand wasn’t big enough to wrap around his finger but she broke into a cute smile and let out a happy sound.

“Pup dangerous... lulls into liking it...” Mithrax chuckled.

“You should see how she has elsie wrapped around her finger” she teased “she’s a little monster” she looked pleased “we should be right to go now I think”.

“Good, careful of ground, roof makes ground unstable” he growled with irritation. Mithrax gently freed himself from the child before standing and leading the way, this time taking the gravity lift down which made kyraas look confused.


	19. Getting Comfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fireteam Russian Roulette returns to the house of light.

As they walked away from the ship, Anne looked up to see the damage and a large chunk of the ceiling had crumbled leaving metal rods hanging out and cement barely holding on. The ship itself was fine but had a few extra scratches and dents but it appeared the age of the building had meant it just crumbled rather than did any real damage. 

Anne didn’t hang around in case things werent finished falling and it was clear that Mithrax was quite displeased about it all as he gave moody looks to those in his way, as they reached the throne room, Mithrax stopped to look at Anne “would recommend Anne wait until called... will be unpleasant”.

“No worries, let us know when it’s... over... I guess” Anne nodded, fallen were gathering in the Room with expectation and as Mithrax entered, the room almost quietened, Anne quickly headed to her quarters where she found elsie and Skye setting up.

Noticing how pale Anne was, Skye looked worried “are you ok?”.

Anne nodded “yeah... I think the culprit... they are getting docked...” she muttered.

The two looked shocked before looking a bit sick “well they are... eliksni...” elsie nodded “how is the little one?”.

“I think she likes Mithrax still, so there’s that, but there’s a lot of strange faces, she’s quiet” Anne admitted as she settled on the ground “oh, gilder, it’s safe to come out now” she promised “these fallen will not hurt you”.

The golden ghost appeared hesitantly “this is terrifying” she whispered “how are you guys ok with this?!”.

“It takes some practice” Skye smiled “but just stick with us and you will be perfectly safe, promise”.

Elsie set up a blanket on the ground and Anne carefully unwrapped the child before putting her on the ground, she was still armoured and looked offended at being put down until she rolled over and noticed a bear that had been put down for her and she seemed content to just look around the strange room curiously.

After a little while, there were distant cries of pain but they were far enough away that it didn’t bother little kyraas and after the trip and excitement of everything, she was awake when Mithrax entered, ducking into the room “safe to leave now” he informed.

“Thank you” Anne nodded. On seeing the huge kell, kyraas looked at him with wide eyes before holding a hand up to him with a triumphant wa.

“Pup more energetic that last I saw” he spoke, softening a little before movement caught his eye as gilder quietly moved behind the hunter shyly “was that dust?” He asked.

Gilder gave a frightened squeak at being noticed and Anne motioned her out gently “no, this is a new ghost to protect kyraas, her name is gilder and she normally works in the tower” Anne explained, Gilder gave a nervous nod.

“Noticed shiny shell” Mithrax mused “welcome to house light, gifts from great machine welcome here” he assured.

Skye and elsie shifted before motioning for the captain to sit “you can join us for five if you like? Unless you have eliksni stuff to do” elsie smiled.

Mithrax nodded and settled on the floor “wish to catch up with friends, how long will stay?” He looked to elsie “misraaks have things that captain could help with”.

“Sure” elsie nodded “anything I can do, I will” she smiled “as for how long, I think we have about a month before the vanguard will want us to resume duty, until then, we are here to help you”.

“Good, want you to go with scavenging parties, will be second in command, want you to defend from guardians..” he nodded.

Elsie gave a salute “yes sir, that’s easy” she smiled. 

He then looked to Skye “can skye help eliksni with guardian devices?”.

“Of course” Skye nodded.

Kyraas watched curiously but after a moment, she looked a bit annoyed that she was being ignored and got onto her tummy to growl at Mithrax and pout, the kell looked unsure “what is pup doing?”.

Anne chuckled “she wants to play with you, your ignoring her”.

Mithrax looked confused “pup demands attention? Eliksni learn to earn attention...”.

“Human children are spoiled I guess” elsie mused “go on, she’s asking semi nicely” she teased. 

The kell looked thoughtful “how does one...play? Too delicate to rough house with...”

“Give her a toy” anne suggested, holding out a colourful toy “it’s easy” she took a moment to playfully wave it in front of kyraas and she reached out for it playfully, distracted by the bright colours, she then offered it to Mithrax “the trick is to let her have it before she gets grumpy”.

Mithrax took it thoughtfully before attempting the same and after a moment, kyraas giggled playfully as she tried to catch her toy and with gentle guidance from Anne, he let the child chew on the toy happily. “Pups only this young for days, learn to climb, run and play within week, begins training to become strong as soon as able”.

“It takes a bit longer than that for humans” Anne smiled.

“Misraaks wonders how humans survived before guardians...” he admitted. Kyraas suddenly let out a complaint as if she’d understood and been offended by his words and she rolled giving the kell a disapproving look. “What is wrong with pup?” He asked with confusion.

“It looks like you offended her” elsie teased. Kyraas reached out for the kells hands before looking upset and Mithrax must have understood as he put one of his hands in her reach. The girl cheered up instantly as she playfully inspected his three fingered hand That’s was almost a third of her size. 

Mithrax looked unsure “why would human want such demanding pup?”.

“Well... they are cute I suppose, when they grow up they will continue to family line... and I guess so that humanity can live on...” Skye looked thoughtful “however, pups can exist for other reasons... accidental reasons... so most people just accept it and move on with their life”.

“Eliksni breed for purpose almost always... waste of resources to do otherwise” he looked at Anne “Anne chose pup?”.

Anne looked a bit awkward “uh... well yes... but not to start with... it was uh...” she blushed slightly “I wasn’t intending on having one but I didn’t die so this little one made herself known”. 

Mithrax looked thoughtful and kyraas gave an angry cry since he was ignoring her again, he gave the child a look before picking the child up gently, she was nothing to him and he could almost hold the child in just his hands alone, kyraas looked unsure to start with before giving the kell a careful smile. Mithrax lifted a third hand to poke her playfully and the child giggled “you fear nothing do you?” He mused.

“No she does not” Anne smiled. 

“What is pup wearing?” He asked curious “looks like guardian” he continued to play with her as he spoke, holding her carefully.

“Gilder here made it especially for her, it’s as protective as you can make it for a baby” Anne explained.

“Ah, little armour... cute” Mithrax chuckled. He was interrupted by a growl from the door as a captain took his attention and after a short conversation, Mithrax growled with annoyance only to be distracted as kyraas laughed at him adorably before growling playfully. “Misraaks must leave” he muttered finding it a bit harder to be serious although as he went to put kyraas down, she looked shocked and upset before threatening to cry, reaching out for the kell.

“It’s ok, she will get over it” Anne assured.

Mithrax looked unsure before sighing with a low growl “must speak with eliksni, can bring with if pup wants to stay”.

“I can come with to help if you like but it’s ok if you don’t want to take her, she will forget about it in ten minutes” Anne promised. 

Mithrax shifted the child to his chest and held her with one hand as he stood and after repositioning the child he nodded “Anne come to meeting with pup, avoids loud cries” he paused “has soft spot for pup” he admitted.

Kyraas looked thrilled as she looked around from her new height and she played with the kells cloak with interest. Anne looked amused and stood “then lead the way”.

“Have fun you three” elsie smiled.

Anne gave them a look “I’d say the same but don’t” she muttered.

Elsie gave her a cheeky grin as they left and once they were gone, she let out a tired sigh “who’s she kidding, I’m too tired to do anything of the sort” she muttered before looking to Skye “cuddles?”.

Skye sighed playfully “I suppose I can manage that” she mused before shifting to free elsie from her armour “you need a bath though.. look at you, your a mess” she looked defeated.

“That will happen when you sword fight with a captain, they are better than me” she smiled. 

“And yet you won?” Skye chuckled “you did good” she assured. Elsie let skye dearmour her leaving her in leathers and she got up to strip down and dress casually before settling onto her sleeping bag and Skye settled beside her comfortably. 

Anne however found herself in the throne room, Mithrax had settled into his throne and kyraas was still happily in his clutches, curiously playing with his armour and fur cloak in places and when that got boring, Mithrax absentminded played with her hands as he was addressed by a number of captains and vandals. At first, the captains had looked confused but with a threatening growl from Mithrax, they didn’t question his choice or actions. The child had no inclination of anything that happened around her and after a while, yawned sleepily falling asleep in the kells arms. 

Anne didn’t really understand what was going on, but she found it mildly fascinating watching and she got a few glances over the time. Mithrax was finally left alone and he looked almost bored and looked thoughtfully to the now sleeping child in his lap “your pup is sleeping...” he looked over to Anne.

“She likes you, she must remember you in some part” Anne smiled “I can take her off your hands if you like” she walked over to take a look.

“Pup is not as unpleasant as seems” he admitted.

“No, she isn’t.... I thought I’d hate it...” Anne admitted thoughtfully “it’s strange... now I would be... empty without her” she sighed before looking to Mithrax “you seem bored”.

“Eliksni matters fine... but misraaks enjoys leaving... tied down here... leading eliksni is not as entertaining as one thinks...” the kell sighed “want to give eliksni safe place, this is only way”.

Anne smiled “sounds like you have the hunters blues... being tied down isn’t your style”. 

Mithrax chuckled “prefers to leave, run own crew... can Anne relate?”.

“Are you kidding? I almost threw myself off the tower when they said I wasn’t allowed to leave it for six months... I almost went crazy...” Anne nodded “I hate staying the the tower too long, too many eyes, too much gossip, too many people” she smiled “I prefer a night in Venus alone any day” she admitted “I won’t be doing that for a while though” she nodded.

The kell looked thoughtful “is tower bad?”.

“No, I just hate how crowded it is, not to mention the rules and expectations...” Anne explained “and technically out on the field is just as strict, but you can get away with a lot more, especially with elsie around” she smiled.

“Is eliksni home better?” Mithrax asked curiously.

“Yeah, I don’t have to pretend I’m some noble guardian here” she nodded “and while there are some rules, I don’t mind because they aren’t suffocating, I appreciate the subtle self serving thing that eliksni does” Anne smiled “now I’m not entirely held down by this little one, I can start paying you back for not killing me”.

“Hmm, looking forward to it” Mithrax nodded “particularly after hearing past... tell me, how did feel to take down monsters?” He looked curious.

Anne looked thoughtful “it depends on which monster you mean... most of them, I was just trying survive and while there is a certain... enjoyment in death, it gets tiring, you bring down threat after threat and there’s always something else, it gets to the point that your just fighting on auto-pilot” she nodded “if there was one... then I suppose... well, silencing hive is the most satisfying, bit only because they are particularly disturbing” she nodded.

Mithrax looked thoughtfully at the hunter “Anne must take pup with?” He stood carefully as not to stir the child before moving to leave and the hunter followed.

“Well yes, and no in a way... someone always has to stay with her and usually, it’s me” she sighed “elsie and Skye sometimes babysit but she has never been away from me for more than a few hours, she’s probably old enough for me to leave for longer than that as long as she has someone to make sure she’s ok”.

“So Anne could go with elsie?” Mithrax asked “would be short trip if wanted too”. As they reached the room, the kell ducked inside gently to find Skye and elsie curled up together sleeping. It was sweet as elsie held the warlock gently looking content as Skye cuddled into her chest. “Friends seem happy” Mithrax observed quietly “happier than last time”.

Anne smiled “they are, they make a great pair” she replied quietly “and sure, if Skye babysits... I’ll go out but im not in the best shape... I need to practice with elsie”.

Mithrax nodded “misraaks protect Skye and pup so Anne can be free for short time” he promised “can fight here anytime too” he continued before gently putting the sleeping child in her parents arms “will leave to duties... but know where misraaks is” he nodded before slipping out as quietly as he’d come. Anne gave a nod and looked thoughtful before settling into her own bed, being careful not to wake little kyraas and she too settled down for a nap. 


	20. A Long Expected Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsie and Anne finally clash and maybe the eliksni can learn a thing or two.

The first day was pretty relaxed, the guardians took the time to take a break from their prison like punishment of the last six months. The next day however They approached Mithrax with determination. They waited until he was finished with his duties before elsie approached playfully.

“You look bored” she mused “you interested in watching a fight?”.

Mithrax immediately looked interested “hmm, who captain fighting?”.

“Well someone has to get Anne back into the swing of things” elsie teased “I’m gonna beat up Anne for a bit, your more than welcome to watch if your bored”.

The kell nodded “misraaks will watch, what of pup?”.

“I’ll be babysitting” Skye smiled “I’m not into their barbaric games” she chuckled “although it’s always interesting to watch”.

Elsie sighed “barbaric as it may be, it’s always fun, although today I’ll have to be nice since for once, I won’t be the slow one” she gave Anne a playful smile.

Anne give her an annoyed sigh “I’m going to stab you and enjoy it greatly” she assured.

“So where can we fight? We might bring light into it so we don’t want to accidentally break something” elsie asked mithrax.

The kell looked amused and stood “follow, misraaks show you, looking forward to seeing fight, Will skye be watching with pup?”.

“I was going to but it might upset her so I don’t know if I’ll be able too” Skye shrugged “so maybe, maybe not”.

Mithrax nodded “know of place” he waved them along and started leading the way through the factory, this time they entered a more destroyed part of the factory and ended up in a large room that was part of an old conveyer line and it probably connected to to the rest of the stuff that was stretched all through out the factory. The roof had come down here though and while most of the walls still stood, there wasn’t much cover which probably explained why this area wasn’t used much and the ground was spotted with rubble. 

The area was spotted with eliksni that seemed to pause curiously to look at Mithrax as he motioned to the area “may fight here, eliksni fight here unless challenged, then fight in front of Mithrax, eliksni grow strong here”.

“Perfect” elsie smiled before turning to Anne “rules?”.

Anne nodded “try not to kill me I suppose, in fact, leave the chest alone, I’m not finished breast feeding yet, everywhere else is fine and don’t baby me” she threatened.

Elsie chuckled “I’ll start off slow but I promise I won’t hold off the punches, do you want me in armour? We are starting with hand to hand right?”

Anne looked thoughtful “well I’m wearing armour... but it’s up to you”.

“I’m quicker without, plus, I might not hurt as much, I’ll give you a freebie” elsie smiled.

Anne looked to Skye “call out if you need me ok?”.

Skye nodded “I got it, have... fun... I suppose”

Mithrax looked thoughtful before looking to Skye “misraaks take Skye and pup somewhere safe to watch, allow to carry? Cannot walk”.

Skye nodded looking a little unsure and handed kyraas to the kell and he walked over to a wall that looked like it once had stairs leading to a doorway high up on the wall. He climbed the wall effortlessly and slipped into the room which appeared to overlook the area. After a moment he returned without kyraas and offered the same to Skye and he just as effortlessly carried her up. Kyraas had been left on a pile of cloth safely and she looked around curiously. 

Mithrax settled near a large window that over looked the whole room as suspected and it was probably an overseers office once but now it acted as a great viewing platform, Mithrax looked around before letting out a loud call and the eliksni looked up before scattering to the edges of the room so it was clear that the guardians had the whole room to mess around in.

Skye looked around curiously, looking over what little remained in the office with interest but she couldn’t understand anything she did find, since kyraas was fine for the moment, she settled beside Mithrax “this place is incredible... I wonder what it was..” she mused.

“Old human factory... not sure what built, perhaps big metal birds in eliksni home, provides much for eliksni” Mithrax nodded “captain once said she fights Anne to death? How do friends fight?” He asked curiously

Skye looked down to her company thoughtfully “well it depends on the day, before the little one came along, they would fight to the death and they’d do it over and over until they got tired” she sighed “when they are both in top form, it can take hours until they are finished, today will be pretty short I think... and Anne is going to be a bit out of it”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “will captain go easy?”

“She says she won’t, but I think she will” Skye nodded “at least she will start nice and easy, and she will probably let Anne use her knife too eventually”.

“Anne fighting captain unarmed and armoured?” Mithrax asked with confusion.

Skye nodded “all that armour she wears, it’s tough to get through so she immediately has an advantage over Anne who’s out of practice, she may or may not be able to get through her armour currently” she smiled “she will never admit it out loud, she’s too proud”. She moved over to kyraas as she started to fuss with no one giving her attention “the other thing is, that armour gives elsie a whole bunch of extra oomph, she hits harder even if she is mildly slower so she probably wants to avoid hurting Anne too badly, as for weapons, the only ones she needs is her fists, she can use a knife but prefers not to”.

“Even for eliksni... seems unfair..” he observed.

“It’s perfectly fair in their books, and elsie is always ready to take a fall for anyone” Skye mused “she is kind like that, give it a few weeks and you will get to see Anne take down elsie fully armoured with nothing but a knife, it’s impressive to watch, she just needs to figure it out again, not to mention when they bring light into it” she chuckled “I love watching them play with light, the way the arc moves through them... the way the solar burns and explodes” she sighed “it’s the most pure expression of their power”.

Mithrax trained his gaze on the two as they moved into position to fight “Skye seems to know much about friends, how long been with friends?”.

Skye looked thoughtful “I’ve been part of their fireteam for.... at least twenty years” she admitted “if not longer, I don’t recall, but those two have been friends for longer I think”.

“Long time... explains much” he admitted before falling silent as they begun to fight. Skye wandered over to watch with interest as she entertained the little one. 

Down below, the hunter was fully armoured and stood defensively facing elsie. The titan loosened up and punched her palm expectantly, flashing a cocky smile “lets go slow poke”.

Anne visibly clutched her knife tighter “have I ever told you how annoying you are?”.

“Repeatedly” elsie teased “come on, I’ll let you go first if you like”.

“As if that’s helpful to me” Anne replied “beating me up before I got a chance to fight, you can come to me”.

Elsie gave a playful grin “sure thing”. She didn’t hesitate to step forward and throw a fist and anne dodged it followed by the next few until she went to step back and found a piece of rubble and the moments distraction caused her to be thrown off balance by a heavy fist in her shoulder and she fell.

Anne gave a frustrated sigh and got back to her feet after retrieving her knife and prepared herself once more before nodding “again”.

Elsie gave a playful salute before launching into more heavy fists but it was clear she was holding back, and as Anne reaction speed slowly picked up, so did the Titans. Anne focused on her dodging mostly to begin with and while she caught a few blows, elsie was kind as she allowed the hunter to get used to things. When Anne finally tried to attack the titan, elsie was quick and blocked her effortlessly with her forearms or hands and used it to land more blows on the hunter to make her stagger back, she was no longer falling over completely at least.

Elsie didn’t say much as she beat the hunter up, once they’d begun to fight properly, she took it seriously, offering a few words here and there if it was needed but otherwise, she was simply the punching bag and she focused on her job, to bring the hunter up to speed without damaging her too much. 

After an hour or so, they took a break before getting back to it, Anne was already quite tired but she pushed through it and her determination showed as she finally hit her target. She baited the titan into blocking her right arm and as the titan moved into her familiar follow up, Anne threw herself into a side step as she was briefly surrounded by void and she used the Titans momentum to thrust her knife into her shoulder making her stagger with pain.

Elsie let out our a pained grunt as she tore it out of her shoulder equally as quickly and the titan paused for a moment breathing heavily “Good one...”

Anne looked triumphant with a flicker of concern, usually she didn’t see Elsie’s face and the pain she caused when they fought. She felt flickers of guilt settle in her gut “you ok?”.

Elsie nodded as she tenderly loosened up. light gathered to repair the wound “yeah... normally you don’t go as deep, that’s all, caught me by surprise too... I’d almost consider it cheating to use your abilities like that” elsie smiled after a moment she nodded and stood defensively “lets go” she encouraged “I’m not done until I’m dead”.

“Your sure?” Anne asked.

“Please, you’ve done worse before” elsie chuckled before moving into attack and Anne was forced to defend herself. Now that the hunter felt more confident, she was still slow but she could now start wounding the titan however the titan was more careful from this point on and the fight slowed down a bit as both parties became more careful, The tension however never went down. each cut or stab the titan took made her looked pained briefly but even as it became clear she was starting to lose, she never gave in until Anne finally managed to get quick enough to dodge the Titans attack and slice her throat. 

Elsie fell to her knees almost immediately with a chuckle and combined with the cuts all over her body, she collapsed with a quiet thud, dying at the hunters feet. Anne was exhausted by this point however and bent over to catch her breath, it had taken almost two hours to just kill her once and the hunters stamina was shot after so long being away from the field. 

After sparks healed all of the Titans wounds, she gasped to life with a bloody cough and stood up “hey, that’s one, you still got it after all” she smiled.

Anne looked up to her tiredly “when I can kill you in armour, then I’ll celebrate” she muttered.

“Oh come on, you can take this one” elsie mused “are you done for today? Or you wanna pick this up later?”. 

Anne looked indecisive before sighing, she was bruised to all hell everywhere but her upper chest and her body was tender “lets give it a rest... maybe later or tommorow...” she stood up looking a bit disappointed.

Elsie nodded and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder “you did well, don’t worry, we will practice everyday and in a week, it will be like you never stopped” she promised.

Anne cleaned her knife before putting it in her sheath and swept her her hood off to take her helmet off “thanks”. She gave the titan an appreciative look “I owe you one”.

“You owe me a lot” elsie chuckled “but who’s counting right?” she gave a playful wink.

Anne gave her a shove and rolled her eyes “Your so obnoxious”. 

Elsie smiled before coughing and spitting more blood and now it was over, they were approached by Skye and Mithrax, kyraas was asleep in the kells arms. The warlock went straight to elsie and after looking her up and down, sighed “you ok?”.

“Of course, I need a bath though if your interested” she teased making Skye blush.

“I might be convinced” Skye muttered as she pulled out a cloth to clean Elsie’s face gently.

“Wonderful” elsie mused before picking her up in a bear hug and she held the warlock over her shoulder playfully “lets go”. She gave the other two a cheeky smile “I’ll see you guys later” she mused before walking off with the embarrassed warlock. After they had gotten a bit away, Skye managed to escape only for elsie to chase her playfully. 

Anne and Mithrax watched them go before Anne sighed “children, I swear I have three of them instead of one sometimes...” she muttered.

“Like young eliksni... strange considering captains strength...” Mithrax mused before looking to the hunter “impressive fight, Skye mentioned Anne slow, yet still managed to kill captain”. 

“Thanks” Anne muttered with a slight blush “it usually doesn’t take that long... and she was taking it easy on me” she looked frustrated “I did say not to kill me but...” she sighed “I hate being weak” she looked to Mithrax “how did kyraas go?”.

“Quiet, slept, Skye fed pup, gilder helped” Mithrax nodded “didn’t hear or see anything” he looked thoughtful “what will Anne do now?”.

The hunter bit her lip “I’m too tired to do anything more today so I might just have a nap” she admitted “here I can take her now” she offered her hands and Mithrax gently gave her the sleeping child.

The fallen that has settled down to watch the guardians fight, now started either leaving or continuing their own fights. They had gathered quite the crowd with their show however and Anne only just noticed as she looked around. 

“Guardians put on good show, captain in particular can take much punishment” Mithrax observed thoughtfully “Anne ok?”.

Anne nodded “I’m fine, I’ll feel it in a little bit, but it could be much worse” she sighed “and elsie is a monster, most titans are but elsie in particular... if she has someone to protect or a goal in mind, it’s incredibly hard to take her down, she will fight until she physically can’t anymore” she smiled “I’ve always admired her for it... I always had trouble just giving myself to the guardians cause but she just does it with all her being and has done ever since I met her”. 

Mithrax looked confused “Anne doesn’t want to be guardian?”.

“Not all the time, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate... existing but” she sighed and started walking back to her room “I woke up and I was immediately being chased by eliksni in the cosmodrome... born into danger because I just happened to be the right person but this giant ball of light can decide to just dredge me up out of nowhere, who am I? Who was I? And sometimes I just wonder if there’s a point to it all. Sometimes I just think that it’s unfair and I can’t help but wonder if I would have preferred to stay dead...” Anne looked thoughtful.

Mithrax thought for a moment “never thought about great machines gift like that...” he admitted “what does ghost think of this?”.

“Well she didn’t get a choice either, I mean I love dust and she loves me... we are our favourite partners in crime” she smiled “I’d be lost without her, but she was born to find me, that was her one goal and she wasn’t really told why other than to help fight... to both of us, it’s just tiring after a while, why can’t the world just stay saved” she shook her head “but this is what happens when you have too much time to think and I have a potentially infinite time to think”.

The kell seemed to ponder her words “different point of veiw... eliksni think about now, only kell thinks ahead but only for survival” he looked almost solemn “eliksni were great once... whirlwind tore everything away... but once were like your city and great machine gifted us life...” he sighed “great machine abandoned eliksni, and yet we chase... god is petty but crave it’s light... life is foolish, but suppose must make good use of it, otherwise no point to it” 

he looked to Anne “perhaps fight is tiring but like eliksni, must fight, must protect but misraaks thinks that guardians for something greater than killing machine... makes great killing machine, but not only purpose” he nodded “Anne is here with sworn enemy” he put a hand on her head gently “could have killed, remain enemy but didn’t, could have turned on eliksni, could have run away, but didn’t, gives Misraaks hope that future doesn’t have to be bloody...”.

Anne nodded “you can tell me if I’m rude, but if you believe that, why do the eliksni have such.... barbaric practices like docking... it seems opposite to those beliefs...”.

Misraaks chuckled “hope doesn’t change necessity, eliksni must be strong, cannot risk such mistakes” he nodded “old friend used to say, one drop of water won’t change ocean, can certainly try, perhaps one drop may change another but in most cases, drop fades into ocean never to be seen again, one eliksni may change ideas, but at edge, must ensure survival, want to befriend guardians for survival but if guardians shoot first, must fight back” he thought for a moment before continuing “docking is show of dominance and punishment, friendship with guardians makes some wonder if misraaks still true eliksni, misraaks doesn’t take pleasure in docking but when risking all of eliksni, must be punished to match” he nodded “similar to making captain fight for guardians... would have done same for any eliksni, captain has earned her place”.

As they reached Anne’s room, the hunter looked to Mithrax “so what does that mean anyway? Elsie won, but what did she win?”.

“Guardians killed many eliksni, found settlement and got help to murder us... normally would kill... you taught us how to kill permanently” he admitted “but in doing so, would bring all guardians down on heads, one guardian fine but many... and who knows if told your city where we are, no option but to capture and ensure something different happens...” he crouched thoughtfully “was hoping captain could fix for eliksni, but to do that, had to win guardians from eliksni, prove that she was willing to take fall for guardians crimes both now and in future” he nodded “any guardian affairs must now go through captain, she takes fall for all things guardians do to eliksni”.

“So what, a random guardian kills one of your men and elsie gets punished?” Anne clarified with worry.

“Must know context, guardian kill us out of fear, understands, respects self preservation, but kills out of want for no reason but death... different, elsie would take fall” he explained.

“That’s... what would be her punishment?” Anne continued with concern.

“Depends on crime... but in most cases, cannot dock, so would be sentenced to fight if guardian was captured, if she lost, would have to surrender to eliksni for punishment and guardian would likely die permanently” he looked thoughtful “a captain earns their crew and from that point on, their crew is controlled almost solely by captain. If crew does something wrong, Captain is blamed because clearly wasn’t good leader. Captain must punish crew themselves or surrender crew to be punished”.

“So any guardian is considered part of Elsie’s crew?” Anne asked.

Mithrax nodded “yes”.

The hunter looked thoughtful as she settled on her bed and set kyraas down “so theoretically, elsie could punish the guardian and she’d be fine?”.

“Yes, must show that she doesn’t tolerate mistreatment of fellow eliksni” he replied.

Anne nodded “so would she have to punish in the ways of the eliksni?”.

“No, captains choose punishment” Mithrax explained “as long as punishment is accepted. Could do anything... but docking is most common because leaves permanent mark of shame on eliksni, leaves permanent lesson”.

Anne looked thoughtful “so theoretically, if I went and did something bad, she could take me to the tower for punishment?”.

“As long as she intends to punish you, yes” he nodded.

“I need to talk to the vanguard...” Anne muttered before looking to Mithrax “what would be an acceptable punishment for killing the eliksni without reason?”.

The kell looked thoughtful “for guardians... cannot dock, so death, however death means nothing to guardians... not certain what would mean same to guardians...”.

“How about losing their light for an extended period?” Anne asked thoughtfully “for example, when elsie was punished; she was kept in a room that drained her light and she was kept there until Skye and I returned to the tower, she went a little nutty being away from the light so long and when she was returned to the light, she felt a bit sick” she nodded “and after that they’d be stuck on city duty for god knows how long, the vanguard can punish them for elsie and it would work”.

“Are you sure?” Mithrax asked “how do you know?”.

“Well most guardians hate being tied down, particularly hunters but we have ways of tracking guardians who have... misbehaved” she got up and her armour faded into casual clothing and she held up her wrist to show off her tracking bracelet “this is part of our punishment, this is how the vanguard could make sure we were staying in the city and even now, they are tracking us to keep an eye on us” she sighed “if either I or my ghost attempt to remove it, we will be punished further” Anne looked unsure “would that be good enough?”.

Mithrax nodded “for most things, eliksni would accept that, as long as lesson was learned” he looked thoughtful “if kills without reason after... eliksni would claim guardian to punish themselves... would result in permanent death most likely”.

The hunter looked thoughtful “I will speak to the vanguard... they will create rules for it and enforce them” she assured. 

“Good” he nodded “fight was entertaining, may fight as often as like, misraaks enjoys watching” he chuckled “must go, but know where misraaks is” he finished before leaving quietly. Anne saw him off before checking on kyraas and she settled into an exhausted nap after having dust send off all the information she had just learned.

It took a week or so before Anne’s reflex’s returned to a state where she felt comfortable to start working and elsie started going out and supporting the eliksni in their various endeavours. Anne decided to join in eventually leaving kyraas with Skye and Mithrax. 


	21. Kells and their pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young kyraas has found a strong babysitter in a kell and misraaks has found an interesting little pet to train.

The young girl scrambled into the room desperately, it was empty other than piles of cloth and scraps and she dove under them breathlessly, hiding as best she could. She waited with an expectant silence as a large shadow crossed the doorway before a huge figure ducked into the room. As it stood, everything in the room was dwarfed and it let out a low growl as it scanned the room making the child’s heart race.

She held her breath as the large eliksni crouched down to crawl closer with an ominous chuckle “misraaks can smell you pup...”.

The child let out a frightened squeak before darting out of her hiding place, coming face to face with the kell and she attempted to duck past only to be caught effortlessly by one of the kells hands and he dragged her into his grip before standing and he held her tightly to his chest. 

The girl struggled weakly before tearing up “please, I didn’t mean it! Please don’t take me to mum!”.

“Pup did wrong... must be punished” Mithrax replied simply as he ducked out of the room to start walking through the factory. In the kells arms, the girl was tiny and any efforts she made were useless. 

As they reached the throne room, they were met by three worried woman and the kell settled on his throne, setting the young girl on his lap and he held her there as they approached going from worried to angry “kyra! What did I say about leaving this building by yourself!” She crossed her arms angrily after pulling her helmet off “it’s not safe outside!”.

The child flinched looking upset before she teared up “I’m sorry mama....”

“Sweety, you have to understand, there’s very dangerous things out there, what if someone came and took you? Or you got hurt and no one knew” Skye added. Elsie simply nodded looking annoyed choosing not to speak.

“Where is gilder?” Anne demanded angrily.

“I don’t know” replied the child tearfully “she was playing with her toys, I wanted to play and I saw something...”.

Anne left out a frustrated sigh “why didn’t you look for your friends?”.

“I couldn’t find them...” she muttered “and then I saw a deer and the eliksni were going somewhere...” she looked guilty “I got distracted...” 

Anne was starting to cool down and looked annoyed “ok, so why did you run from the eliksni that were trying to help you?”

“I didn’t want to get in trouble...” she muttered quietly. 

“Well it’s too late for that” Anne sighed with defeat “look, you understand that we are just trying to keep you safe?” She gave the child a stern look “I will take you back to the tower of you don’t behave” she threatened “this place isn’t safe like the tower”.

“No, I want to stay! I promise I’ll be good, I don’t have any friends at the tower” the child replied desperately “I won’t leave again”. 

Anne gave the child a long look before she begrudgingly nodded and approaching Mithrax to pull her into a tight hug “you scare me when you run off like that” she muttered with defeat before looking to Mithrax “thank you for finding her”.

Mithrax nodded and relinquished his hold on the girl now that her mother had said her piece “no problem... could find pup anywhere, may escape sight but not scent...” 

The girl hugged her mother tightly before looking hopeful “are you still busy?”.

Anne sighed with some guilt “yes, we just finished talking to the vanguard... now we have to go out, but you... you went missing so we had to find you before we went anywhere” she looked defeated.

The girl looked depressed “can we play when your back?”.

“Of course I can” Anne replied “but I really need you to stay safe until then, so please, you have to stay with gilder, she will come with you at least ok”.

“I can’t play with gilder though” she complained.

Mithrax watched quietly before nodding “how about pup play with misraaks?”.

The girl looked at the kell hopefully “you can play?”.

“Not busy, can stay with misraaks” he assured “as long as stay quiet if told”. 

“Are you sure?” Anne asked with concern.

The kell nodded “you may go do duties, will ensure pup behaves” he assured before motioning to take the child again.

Anne pressed a kiss to her head lovingly before looking stern “you do as your told ok, I’ll see you soon” she promised. With a cuddle from the girl, she was placed back into the kells arms and the hunter put her helmet back on “we are late, we will be back” she added before the three took off with a jog and each jumped over the railing to skip the stairs, heading to their ships.

The small awoken girl was left in the hands of the eliksni kell. The girl was now five years old and she had a gentle violet skin colour with deep pinkish purple hair rather than the deep plum of her mother. Her eyes were bright blue however and she was beautiful. She was dressed in light warlock robes made of silk and it was more of a dress with pants underneath but she was covered from her neck down in protective cloth. After seeing her family leave with a depressed sigh, she shifted to look up to the kell “your kinda scary...” she muttered.

The kell looked amused “wouldn’t need to be if did as mother told”. 

The girl pouted for a moment before standing up to start climbing to the kells armour and Mithrax helped her by holding her gently so she wouldn’t fall. When she reached his shoulder breathlessly, he held her there carefully “so what can we play?”.

“What would pup like to play?” He asked with a chuckle “becoming good climber” he observed “like eliksni pup”.

The girl smiled “I’ve been practicing” she looked thoughtful before looking excited “can we climb the tower on the roof? And try and see if mum is gone already?”.

Mithrax nodded “will have to be quick, hold on pup” he stood and effortlessly held the child as he started walking quickly through the building and it was barely a minute before he had nimbly made it to the roof. In the distance they could see three ships soaring into the distance and Mithrax effortlessly started climbing the rusted radio tower before settling into a crouch near the top and he let the child settle in his lap with a protective arm around her, he pointed out the distant ships.

The girl looked on happily “elsie looks like she is last again” she smiled. 

Mithrax nodded “usually is... ship slow”.

After a peaceful moment watching the ships disappear, her gaze moved to look out at the sprawling open land surrounding the building that turned into a deep forest “it’s so pretty...” she sighed “I like it here better than the tower” she admitted “is it really dangerous here?”.

“Yes, mother is not wrong... not all eliksni good, other dark things hiding, these things cannot reach pup when she is at tower, much safer” he explained “misraaks and eliksni can protect pup but only if she stays where eliksni can see, must trust eliksni”. The kell looked thoughtful “must trust mother”.

The child looked unsure “I kinda thought you would be scary enough to keep me safe from things” she admitted.

Mithrax chuckled “of course misraaks is... will fight for pup” he assured “will not let anything happen to pup, however, if not close to pup, cannot protect, so must stay” he patted her head gently.

The girl finally nodded “ok... I got it” she sighed “so what can we play?”.

The kell looked thoughtful “would pup like to play with other pups?”. 

“Other pups? There’s other kids here?” She looked excited.

Mithrax nodded and shifted her so he could climb down to the tower “lots of pups” he assured. After climbing down to the lower levels of the building nimbly, he entered the eliksni settlement and shifted the young girl to his shoulder as he carried her through the various eliksni who shot curious gazes at the two but didn’t interfere. The girl looked around just as curiously and waved happily to the eliksni. 

As they reached the breeding portion of the settlement, the kell set the girl on her feet as he let out a loud call and the affect was instant, young faces surfaced curiously before coming out of hiding. Some hid in homes and others climbed down from the various metal structures spotted around the room but they eagerly came over to investigate the kell and his young friend playfully. They climbed up eagerly to greet Mithrax with playful growls before greeting the awoken girl curiously, they were about the same size despite looking very different. 

Mithrax seemed to say a few words to the pups before he settled on the floor “does pup remember what misraaks taught? How to say hello to friendly eliksni?”.

“Oh, yes” she looked excited before concentrating and she nodded with the best attempt at an eliksni greeting as she could do. The pups looked confused before understand and replied happily and responded with a playful grunt before moving away and motioning to follow. With a careful glance to Mithrax, she followed eagerly with his permission and they started playing a game of tag essentially. It was a little tougher than human tag though as the person or eliksni who was it had to capture the next person before they were it. 

Mithrax must have said to stay on the ground and be gentle though because it was rather tame as pup games went and it was probably one that was introduced for kyraas specifically. Mithrax watched them play for a while, occasionally telling off the pups when they got too rough with the girl but for the most part, she had fun as she played with the eliksni children. It only stopped when Mithrax. Let out a loud call which kyraas recognised as an order to return to him.

She playfully climbed back up to his shoulder before giving him her best growl “yes mithrax” she giggled. 

“Must come with, have matters to see too” he replied “may make fearsome eliksni yet” he chuckled as he held her once so he could stand without her falling off. 

“Can I help?” She asked curiously.

“Perhaps, will see” he nodded “may be able to advise”. Kyraas looked excited at the prospect and Mithrax returned to the throne room where two captains waited for him and as he settled into his throne, he gave them a nod and engaged in conversation.

The girl listened curiously despite not understanding much and after a few minutes, started to look bored and she climbed down carefully to jump down off the throne and curiously approached the captains with awe earning their disapproving glances. Kyraas however didn’t see them and circled them to look at their cloaks before returning to Mithrax’s side.

The kell didn’t seem bothered by the child’s actions unlike the captains but after a moment of thought, he looked to the child “When is mother returning?”.

“Mum? I don’t know....” she looked unsure “could ask gilder?”.

The kell nodded and let out a loud cry and it was instant, the ghost appeared beside the girl “yes! I’m here!” She looked apologetic “I got distracted”.

“What is pups mothers orders? When will return?” He asked.

Gilder looked unsure “let me check, she sent me a copy of her orders.... uh.... tommorow morning at the the latest but if something happens... could be a day or two since they are going off planet”.

The kell looked thoughtful “hmm... stay close to pup... your services may be needed” he muttered.

The ghost nodded and faded to take refuge in the child’s armour and she looked unsure “is everything ok?”.

“Yes, better to be safe than sorry, stay with misraaks” he ordered before looking to the captains and he continued speaking.

Kyraas looked thoughtful but did as she was told, climbing back onto mithrax’s lap until he finished talking and as the captains left, he looked to the child “gilder, pup may have to hide, can hide under cloak, can gilder give pup safety”.

The ghost appeared at request “as in give her something to hold onto? What will you be doing?”.

“May have to fight” he nodded “can hold pup and fight, but easier not too, pup hides under cloak so protected, must not fall however”.

The ghost looked concerned but focused on the task at hand “I’m a great armourer, I’m sure I can figure something out” she muttered as she scanned his armour thoughtfully and after a moment “if you don’t mind me adjusting your armour, I have the perfect thing”.

Mithrax nodded and looked to the girl “if misraaks says to hide, hide under cloak, hold on, have friends visiting but friends do not like guardians or human pups”

The girl thoughtfully reached out to play with his cloak “it’s so heavy...”. The cloak was made from a thick almost wooly fabric. 

“Will protect pup” he promised “now come” he lifted the girl to his shoulder and carried her as he walked back to her room.

“Where are we going?” She asked curiously.

“Pup should rest” he replied as he set her on her bed.

The girl looked disappointed “why? I’m not even tired... normally elsie tells me a story”.

“Story? What kind of story?” Mithrax asked.

“You know, stories about cool guardians... I like the one about saint-14” she smiled “she told me one about this warlock called osiris once too” she smiled “I like Sagira though, she’s my favourite character because she tells Osiris off a lot” she giggled happily “she looks like an eye, but not a normal ghost eye, a weird eye”.

The kell looked thoughtful “would like to hear of elinski story?”.

She looked instantly excited “eliksni have stories?”.

“Of course, many stories... but must promise to rest, will not tell otherwise” he assured. At that, kyraas laid down and listened expectantly “good... misraaks tell you tale of eliksni and chelchis of house stone”.

He nodded “long time ago, eliksni were not pirates and scavengers as guardians call, were noble race, proud and strong. Eliksni now fractured and weak, but long ago, the great machine came to eliksni, offered eliksni it’s gifts like it does now for guardians”.

The girl looked at him with wide eyes “do you mean the traveller?”.

He nodded “your people call traveller, eliksni call great machine, and eliksni worshipped great machine, gave us many things, lived well for long time, but this was not to last” he sighed “great machine left us without a word, with no reason, woke up and gone one day, eliksni were confused, lost and that’s when the whirlwind happened...”. The girl was silent as she listened to the story in awe.

“Eliksni started to die, could no longer sustain life, started tearing each other apart, the great houses and barons turned on each other and fought for power but this was not what would end eliksni, there was dark power and it came to destroy and take what was left of pride. Eliksni had never seen such darkness before, beings of rock and dust with power to tear away life, eat at very home until it all collapsed”.

the girl looked a bit frightened at this “what were they?”.

“Your people call them hive, but eliksni had never seen before and their leader was fierce... took very existence from eliksni... and so eliksni fled their home with what was left of pride, bringing broken banners and only what could fit on their great ketches... but we could not escape on own... there was once great house of stone and they perished as darkness swallowed home whole, their kell was last thing eliksni saw as he stood alone against darkness, was known as chelchis. Because of his deed, eliksni live on” he looked thoughtful.

“What happened to him?” She asked quietly.

“Eliksni think he perished, but no one saw, perhaps was taken by king but his name lives on” he replied. 

“I didn’t know eliksni had heroes too” she smiled. 

“Of course, have many... have many bad eliksni too, but perhaps tell those tales when older” he chuckled “pup rest now...”.

“Ok” she sighed before settling down to nap, although she looked a bit bored after a moment “can I get cuddles? I can’t sleep” she muttered.

“Such demanding pup” Mithrax chuckled “if weren’t so likeable, would not have patience for you”. Despite this he gently picked her up and set her in his lap “better?”. The girl nodded and cuddled up to him with a comforting sigh and it was a few minutes before she dozed off in the safety of his presence. 

Mithrax waited until the child was dead to the world before speaking “gilder, gather everything the pup might need, eliksni must move”.

The ghost appeared uncertainly “are we in danger?”.

“Heard through your vanguard comms... large fallen force headed this way... had disagreement with house of dusk, concerned for safety of house” he admitted “house of dusk bigger, but no less fierce” he looked to the ghost “can you hold everything pup might need?”.

“Yeah, I’ll just clear my inventory a little and it will be fine” she started circling the room picking up a few things and leaving a few things before taking refuge in the childs armour. The kell gently set the girl in her bed before getting up to leave, turning on the security force field as he went.

It was late afternoon when the girl stirred peacefully, finding herself alone and trapped in her room, it was dark as she was in a windowless room and light found it hard to get through the factory at this hour, normally her family lit the room up at this hour but since she was alone, gilder appeared to light up the room instead. 

“Hey, how was your nap? You hungry?” Gilder asked happily. 

“A little” she muttered “am I in trouble?”.

Gilder transmatted a juice box and ration pack beside her “no, we just wanted to make sure no one woke you, that’s all” she smiled “we will go find Mithrax soon” she promised.

Kyraas started eating thoughtfully “do you think Mithrax will play with me again?”.

“Probably, you will have to ask” she replied “by the way, I made a new outfit for you, you wanna try it on?”.

“A new one? Yes!” She smiled and stood excitedly.

The ghost looked thoughtful and circled the child before replacing her warlock type of dress with a pair of flared pants with a warlock type of coat, it was close enough to warlock robes that it looked the part and after checking out, kyraas seemed happy. “So, comfy?”.

She nodded and sat down “very, it’s kinda weird though” she smiled.

“It’s a special outfit, oh, and I almost forgot” a cloak appeared around her shoulders “perfect”.

The girl playfully put her hood up “ah, am I a hunter?”.

“Kinda, your more of a warlock with a cloak, but you can be whatever you want to be” she assured “it’s a special outfit”.

Kyraas took a moment to eat thoughtfully “why did you make this one?”.

“Well, so you can climb Mithrax safely, so your robes don’t get in the way” she nodded “I can’t have you falling, mithrax is very tall” 

She nodded “especially when he is standing up, he almost hits his head on the roof” she giggled. 

Gilder smiled “yes he does”. They were interrupted by a loud bang and crash sound and kyraas looked frightened as gilder hid on her person, she stayed quiet and timidly drank her juice as she waited but it wasn’t long before the sounds of fighting started in the distance and gilder put the child’s helmet on “kyraas, do me a favour, I need to to hide as best you can ok?”.

The girl nodded and ducked into her bed and stayed as still as she could and the minutes dragged on as the sounds of fighting grew slowly louder, everything became much louder as the sound of the door coming down stopped blocking the noise and the girl froze with fear. the low growl of eliksni sounded through the room as it took slow steps around the room and she let out a scared whimper as it pulled back the bedding to find her with a deep chuckle. In the dim light, she could only see its four glowing eyes but it didn’t hesitate to grab her and start moving to the door. 

The girl couldn’t see the colours of dusk hanging off its shoulders, nor tell the difference between friends or foe in the dark, however, the captain had not attacked her so despite her fear, she tried to stay quiet as it carried her out and climbed down over the railing to escape smoothly and it almost worked until she heard a loud cry which she recognised as Mithrax and the captain immediately looked more rushed as it started sprinting.

“Scream!” Gilder ordered quickly and the girl let out a piercing scream on demand, since her helmet was on, the captain could not silence her and instead moved quicker letting out a loud call however the damage was done and the loud sounds of steps started catching up. They reached outside before there was a loud thud and a huge wave knocked the captain off its feet and the child tried her best to get away only to be captured with confusion, she however looked up to see a furious looking Mithrax with two swords in his hands and he teleported closer to thrust one of them through the captain as he tried to stand. 

He Reached down to grab the captains cloak and pulled it up to start chocking the captain and despite putting his effort into escaping, he could not and let the child go, once kyraas escaped tearfully, Mithrax stood on the captain ruthfully with a deadly growl and the metal armour and body inside it crunched under the force. The captain let out a pained groan before dying under the kells foot and Mithrax stepped over him to pick up the girl “apologies, distracted misraaks, hide under cloak” he ordered with a growl.

The girl nodded and carefully climbed to his back under the cloak and a harness appeared around her, she found herself strapped to the kells back securely. Once he was sure she was fine, Mithrax headed inside and let out a loud call as he put his swords away and pulled out his shrapnel launcher. The sounds of fighting surrounded them and occasionally, the kell would stomp causing a wave of pressure to surround him and clear the area, he didn’t seem very bothered by the attack, almost enjoying it but he was clearly waiting for something and as soon as he heard a distant cry, he put his weapon away and took off at a sprint, stopping to move or kill the occasional enemy but the echoing of the building soon gave way to open air and the crunching of grass and dirt. 


	22. Forced Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The house of light is safe, all thats left is for mithrax to get away safely with his pup.

They moved incredibly fast and the girl felt him duck between what must have been trees but it was a few minutes before he stopped slightly breathlessly “pup fine?” He finally asked with a growl. 

“Yes” kyraas whimpered tearfully before starting to cry.

“Pup is safe with misraaks” he assured “come out, will carry”. After a moment, she nodded and started climbing to his front and he held her tightly “good pup” he nodded as her pet her helmet supportively.

“What happened?” She asked tearfully “why did a bad captain want me?”.

“Misraaks does not know, but will keep pup close, no bad captains will reach pup” he replied before starting to walk, it was pretty dark now and the captain walked quietly, the only light came from the kells eyes that glowed ominously in the dark. 

“Where’s the other eliksni? What about mum and the others?” She asked with fear.

“Will find misraaks when it’s safe” he assured “eliksni gone to safety”, he paused to duck under some low branches, crawling on his hands and feet almost to slip past a particularly tight area, he effortlessly held her tight at his side.

“Why are you alone?” She continued with worry.

“Must ensure houses survival” he replied before petting her “shh now pup, must be quiet, draw attention”. The child nodded reluctantly and just cuddled against the kell quietly. 

It felt like a long night but it was unclear when the kell found an old ruin to settle down in for the night, kyraas was tired again by this point so after the kell had ensured the area was safe, he curled up on the ground in an almost catlike way and set the child protectively beside him, two of his arms holding her close. He used his cloak to keep them both warm as it was thick enough to be a blanket by itself. 

The kell watched in silence for a while until gilder appeared to convince him to get some sleep as she promised to watch over them both so he too slept. 

As the morning rolled around, kyraas was the first awake and she looked around curiously, she was currently covered almost completely by the kells cloak and in his arms protectively. She looked torn before carefully slipping out of the kells grasp and quietly got up. The kell stirred slightly but remained alseep, letting out a low growl in his sleep. 

Looking around, they couldn’t see much when they arrived in the darkness, but the light of day lit up the building dimly and it appeared that this might have been a storage building at some point and it had fallen into disrepair years if not centeries ago. Kyraas looked around curiously before being joined by her ghost who looked stern.

“Kyraas, what are you doing?! You should stay close to Mithrax... it might not be safe here” gilder hissed.

The girl immediately looked guilty “I’m sorry... Mithrax was sleeping... I didn’t want to wake him... mum says not to wake people unless it’s important”.

The ghost sighed “well at least make sure I’m with you ok?”.

“I’m sorry...” kyraas replied with guilt.

“Nevermind, are you hungry?” Gilder continued.

“A little” she admitted.

“Go back and sit with Mithrax and I’ll get you something to eat then” she promised. The girl gave the building a glance before doing as she was told and she settled beside the sleeping kell quietly so gilder could get her something to eat and drink.

The ghost stayed alert despite trying to keep the young guardian busy and it was early morning when she picked movement up on her radar, she quickly flew over to kyraas “hey sweety, you wanna wake Mithrax for me please”.

The girl looked unsure “uh, what if he gets mad?”.

“He won’t, tell him gilder said to wake him up and he won’t be mad, promise” she assured gently.

With a last careful nod, she got up to approach the kell nervously, she’d never woken a sleeping eliksni before and this one in particular looked quite scary even in sleep. She carefully climbed back between his arms “Mithrax?” She asked carefully. 

The kell stirred with a low growl and shifted to free her sluggishly “pup is awake...” he muttered. 

“Gilder said to wake you” she replied quietly looking a bit afraid “I’m sorry”.

He nodded with a sigh “pup fine...” he assured patting her reassuringly. He was a bit slow to sit up but after a moment and a stretch which showed just how large he could be, he looked to the ghost “friends?”.

“I don’t know” she replied. 

The kell got to his feet and picked the girl up effortlessly before looking around and he approached the wall to start climbing it, heading up for a higher floor, he was careful to avoid any loose platforms and he settled into an old office which was more sturdy than anywhere else. He then set the girl down “pup stay here, misraaks will come get when safe”.

“But, what about you?” She asked with worry.

“Misraaks fine, strong” he chuckled “you are weak one” he mused before going to climb down “give war cry if unsafe” he ordered before scaling the wall once more to get on the ground. 

It was quiet for a few minutes and Mithrax hung on the wall above the entrance in wait like an enormous spider, the sounds of scuffles approached slowly before fallen started flooding into the room. They searched for a moment before looking confused that there was nothing there, however they weren’t confused for long as Mithrax dropped down with a heavy thud and laugh and he pulled out two very large swords that crackled with arc. The smaller adds immediatly looked afraid being trapped inside with the kell and they Had every reason to be as Mithrax tore through them without any sign of guilt. 

It was only when a few captains joined the fray that their combined efforts begun to wound the kell yet he didn’t fall despite taking damage and it took a few minutes but he took those down too, he couldn’t rest before a captain entered ominously, this one however was different, he wasn’t quite as big as Mithrax but was very much close in size and he had a horn on each of his shoulders surrounded by fur. 

Mithrax didnt hesitate to face him with an angry growl and the new captain seemed just as eager as he launched into a hectic fight, trading heavy blows that threatened to take down the building they were in, Mithrax was starting to look worn down by now and the captain knew it as he used it against the kell. With an almighty shove, he staggered Mithrax just long enough to tear the pipes leading to his helmet and there was a spray of white light as ether went everywhere, and the kell fell looking winded almost as the pressure inside his armour suddenly changed. 

The captain laughed triumphantly and pressed the kell into the floor as the girl watched with horror “NO! DONT LOSE MITHRAX!”.

The captain was surprised by the sudden call and it was all Mithrax needed to reach out and pull the captain to the ground with him. He put his weight on the captains chest and slit its throat. He stayed there until he was sure it was dead before he collapsed in heavy coughs. It was a few minutes before he climbed back up to the child sluggishly “come pup... must move” he muttered, pain heavy in his voice. 

“Are you ok?” She asked tearfully.

He nodded as he grabbed her and started climbing down, gilder appeared “can I help? Can I fix your armour? Can I do anything?”.

The kell shook his head “lost ether... can repair but cannot get ether back... need servitor” he muttered. 

The ghost looked thoughtful “what about these fallen, would they have some? What if I fix your armour and give you theirs”.

Mithrax seemed unsure before nodding “may find some, misraaks sit and wait for gift” he sighed before settling on the ground against a wall, he was breathing heavily. 

The girl climbed up to his shoulder with concern “Will you be ok?”.

“Of course pup” he nodded. “Will not let anything kill misraaks” he assured “wretches fight dirty, that’s all”.

Gilder took her time to make sure she had fixed his armour properly before doing her best to scavenge What ether she could from the dead fallen, although the kell chose to preserve the supplies for now since he determined that they would not last long. It was then that they left and kyraas hid once more behind the kells cloak on his back. 

The next day was noticibly slower than the night before as the fight was clearly taking its toll but Mithrax didn’t voice it as they continued moving. They took to camping in the afternoon and moving on early the next morning. Kyraas did her best to behave despite her boredom and fear and did as she was told. 

It was a few days before the kell ran out of ether but he didn’t voice it and despite trying, gilder couldn’t figure out how to make it so he went without. It was a week before they reached a place that Mithrax was confident that they would not be found. He took refuge in an old bunker that had clearly been used for such a purpose before. A bed of scrap cloth was set up among fallen crates and materials and while it was small meaning the Mithrax had to crawl, he could fit well enough. 

Once he’d freed the girl from his back, he crawled around the room to go through the left over stuff and busied himself with setting up some equipment, he started by putting a barrier up at the entrance before setting up a signal blocker and finally settled weakly on the floor looking tired.

The ghost looked around curiously “what is this place?”.

The kell looked thoughtful “lived here once, when started house light on own, built house light from nothing... started here alone...” he explained “left things in case needed them in future, safe here”.

The girl settled beside the kell carefully looking worried “you look sick...” she observed.

“Not sick” he assured patting her head “misraaks fine, tired, pup is safe, should rest, wait here”.

The girl looked uncertain “how long are we waiting for?”.

“Until safe to return” he replied “pup talk later”. The girl sighed but carefully settled beside the kell and he shifted to curl around her protectively, making sure she was warm.

“Will mum be able to find us?” Kyraas asked quietly.

“Not sure, hope not, doesn’t want to be followed, but will find mother” he promised. 

This wasn’t the greatest thing to say and it made the girl worry but she settled quietly into sleep at the kells request. The next few days were slow, Mithrax found a few supplies that he’d left here but he didn’t go far as the lack of either was getting to him. It was about two weeks when they found themselves above the surface, Mithrax was allowing the girl to play catch with her ghost to get rid of some of her energy. The kell thought that it was quiet enough to relax a little so while he watched over the child tiredly, he wasn’t too worried since they were in the middle of nowhere and the whole area was nullified by his signal disruptor. 

It was as they were heading inside that Mithrax paused, there was a smell in the air, an unfamiliar one. He could barely walk anymore, taking to crawling on his hands and feet rather than two feet but he stood defensively with a growl and waited as kyraas ducked into the shelter with fear.

It was a moment before a group of guardians stepped out of the trees surrounding them and they trained their weapons on the kell. Mithrax lowered in a crouch with a low growl, ready to attack but waiting. And it was a long moment before the guardians reluctantly put down their weapons looking uncertain “are you of house light?” One of them shouted over. 

Mithrax nodded “kell of house light... will not harm as long as don’t attack” he assured with a growl.

They nodded still looking uncertain “the signal jammer is yours then?”.

“Yes, protection... will not take down” he replied.

“Ok... uh... let us just... I need to talk to the vanguard... stay there” he muttered before walking back into the trees leaving his companions. 

Kyraas came back up carefully to stand beside Mithrax and he put a hand on her head gently “you aren’t fighting are you?” She asked. 

“No, guardians friendly” he nodded.

The appearance of the girl however threw the the guardians off “who is that? Why do you have a young girl?” A female warlock asked with concern.

“Protecting pup for mother, was forced to bring with, had to leave home” he looked grumpy.

“Do you want us to take her?” She offered “we can return her to her mother”.

Mithrax instantly let out an angry growl “my pup...” he threatened, lifting the child to hold her protectively.

This made the guardians back up “ok ok, well does she need anything, we have supplies we can give you” she continued carefully. 

“We are getting low on supplies” gilder admitted as she appeared to fly over to the guardians “look, can you do me a favour and make sure a message gets to Arctic, boa and captain”.

The guardian looked both relieved and confused to see the ghost “yeah... of course.... but where did you come from?”.

Gilder looked at the child proudly “I’m her personal protection, and I am supplying her food and water until we get back to safety, could I restock?” She asked hopefully.

“Of course” the warlock nodded in reply “but your going to have to move away from here” 

“I know, she will be fine, promise” she nodded “I’ll follow you”. 

The warlock nodded despite looking uncertain about leaving the child in the kells hands but she led the way. They had to go about ten minutes away before the kells disruptor stopped taking affect and they were greeted by two guardian ships where the titan now leaned against his ship, he looked surprised to see them. “I thought I told you to wait there” he muttered before eyeing the new ghost “wait, is that a ghost?”.

The warlock nodded “the kell has this kid, and this kid is protected by a ghost, this ghost. she needs to stock up so she can keep looking after the kid”.

“Wait, there’s a kid?” He asked with shock before looking distant “yes sir, sending the co-ordinates your way...” he looked back to the warlock “do you have any names?”.

The ghost nodded, cutting in to the conversation “the kell is Mithrax, I am gilder and the child’s name is kyraas, child of boa, speaking of, i need to send a message”.

“Wait, commander Zavala wishes to speak to you” the titan added quickly “can my ghost connect with you?”.

Gilder floated over and nodded, within a moment, the gravelly voice of Zavala sounded “gilder, it’s good to hear from you, I’m glad your well, I request to know where you are and is the child with you? Is she safe?”.

“Yes sir, kyraas is fine, she is with Mithrax and he isn’t letting anything happen, I’m looking after her needs myself, we had to leave the settlement as it was attacked” she explained.

Zavala seemed relieved “good, we picked up a large scale force, but we were not sure what they were doing until your fireteam discovered what remained of the house, kyraas family has been deeply concerned about her wellbeing”.

“I’m more worried about Mithrax, he was defending us when he lost his ether supply, he is getting weaker by the day, I fear he may not last long” gilder looked concerned “I was going to send her family a message but can you please send them to these co-ordinates, but they have to find some way to bring ether with them”.

Zavala was quiet for a moment “I can arrange that, the remainder of the house of light has been tracked down and returned to their home with guardians to support them, I will send your fireteam with your supplies as soon as possible” he assured “for now, stay where you are”.

“Yes sir, thank you sir!” She exclaimed gratefully “I have to return, I look forward to seeing my fireteam” she finished before cutting off the comms and she looked to the warlock “I just need a few days of supplies at most if possible”.

The warlock nodded and transferred over what she needed before gilder ducked back to her charge eagerly. Mithrax had retreated into the bunker with the child so gilder let herself in before closing the door after her. The kell laid on his side weakly as kyraas leaned against him and playfully chattered away about something random. She got up on noticing gilder “your back! What happened?”.

“I talked to the vanguard, they are gonna send your family to come help” she promised happily.

Kyraas jumped excitedly “I’ll get to see mum?”

“Yeah, and we can go home now” she explained before going over to Mithrax “the house of light is back at the settlement and safe, the guardians are protecting them, so we can all go back now”.

“Good to know” Mithrax nodded “will start walk back tommorow” he muttered.

“Wait, no, you can’t, your exhausted, just wait, my fireteam is coming to help, I asked them to bring ether for you, but we have to stay here or they won’t be able to find us” she explained.

Mithrax looked indecisive before nodding “so be it... misraaks wait here, but must return if takes too long” he muttered. 

“I would be shocked if they didn’t turn up before tonight to be honest...” gilder admitted “they will be in their ships as soon as they hear we have been found”.

“Just as long as guardians don’t lead enemies to us...” he sighed “misraaks going to rest” he muttered with a tired growl “look after pup” he ordered before letting sleep take him.

Gilder nodded and looked to the girl who waited curiously “so what now?”.

“Well, how about we play memory?” She offered. 

“Mmm, ok” she nodded and settled happily. Memory was a game the ghost had come up with based on a game played in the city, they projected 12 digital cards with their backs faced up and kyraas had to flip two over at a time to find the matching cards, she enjoyed it most of the time because the ghosts could make the pictures look like anything as long as there were two matching cards of each. 

They played until kyraas got bored and she settled down for a nap since there was nothing else to do and she curled up beside Mithrax comfortingly. Since the guardians couldn’t get into where they were, they left since the kell no longer surfaced and they couldn’t do anything however gilders assumption wasn’t wrong, it was barely a day before gilder sensed company outside and after telling Mithrax, the kell once more surfaced with a low growl to check on who was threatening them this fine time. 

It was early in the morning, so much so that the sun was barely up and as he crawled out of the bunker and stood, he was greeted with a captain who quickly backed up with its hands up.

“Hey, it’s me, elsie” she added quickly as Mithrax stood threateningly. As elsie took her helmet off to prove it, Mithrax sat down heavily with a weak growl.

“Captain... good to see you...” he muttered, he was starting to look like he was loosing weight, exhaustion hung off him heavily. “Pup can come out” he added.

A shy head poked out of his cloak before she let out an eager squeal “elsie!”. She wasted no time to climb down and run over to the titan dressed in eliksni armour and elsie caught her tearfully.

“Thank the traveller... we were so worried about you... are you ok?” She got down to her knees to carefully fuss over the girl “are you hurt?”.

Kyraas shook her head “Nope, Mithrax made sure I was safe, he fought so many things... i think he is hurt” she looked worried “can you help?”.

“Yes we can” she nodded before giving the girl a last tight hug “we will get you all home soon, promise”. She stood and whistled loudly, after a moment, eliksni surfaced from the trees to approach Mithrax carefully and after a few minutes, they had resupplied the kells personal either supply and Mithrax gave them a grateful nod. 

Mithrax looked to the titan “where is friends?...”.

Elsie looked up to him “I told them to stay so we could help transport you back, they weren’t happy about it, but we thought it important to bring you home, not to mention this one” she looked lovingly to the little girl before looking grateful “thank you for protecting our little girl, when we returned, we feared the worst” she admitted.

“What is plan?” He asked carefully.

“We just need to get you into our skiff, and the rest is easy” she assured. 

Mithrax looked thoughtful before nodding “can lift self into skiff, but have things to do here first...” he shifted to crawl back into the bunker and after a moment, the signal disrupted turned off and he crawled back out of the bunker “bring skiff in, do not feel like walking” he admitted.

Elsie nodded and turned to the fallen and let out a barking order in eliksni. The fallen gave her a nod and responded immediatly and within minutes, the skiff materialised above their heads, the kell picked up kyraas before standing and reaching to grab onto the ship and he lifted himself up sluggishly before crawling through the ship to his quarters, he was almost too big for the ship but he was nimble and easily squeezed himself through the small doorways despite his size.

He didn’t hesitate to curl up on the floor after setting the child on the bed. Kyraas however shifted to sit beside him “I wanna stay with Mithrax”. 

Elsie followed them in and chuckled at the child “ok why don’t you look after him for me then, I’ll be back”. The girl gave an eager nod and curled up happily beside the kell so elsie left them to go check on the crew since the kell didn’t argue. 

Mithrax slept most of the way home with his little guard beside him or cuddled up with him, they didn’t notice when the skiff had come to a stop until elsie came in and gently woke them and it was a bit scary to do so. the young girl was well and truly in mithrax’s clutches. There was no hope of getting her without waking the huge kell curled up around her. 

Mithrax woke a little easier after a few hours of ether and seemed a little less sluggish but he was no less protective even after pulling himself from sleep to look to elsie. “home?” He asked simply.

Elsie nodded “yeah, there’s a whole bunch of guardians around, but it just like you left it” she promised.

“Good...” he replied. He looked to the pup “hide, will take you to mother” he ordered gently.

“Ok” kyraas replied and gently climbed over him to hop on his back, it was practiced at this point. 

“I can take her if it’s easier” elsie offered.

“Pup barely heavier than armour, its fine” he muttered as he got up with a light stretch “promised to protect, misraaks will return to mother”. 

Elsie nodded “I get that, ok, let me know if you need anything, ok” and with that she left so the kell could follow. Elsie jumped down and was immediately greeted by guardians who gave her a salute, they however seemed less prepared by the huge kell who followed her and many of them stood back nervously.

Mithrax gave them a careful look before leaving them to it, it appeared that elsie was controlling her crew well so he had nothing to say on the matter, Instead he started walking to the throne room. Every guardian he passed seemed to look up at him with awe, he was probably one of the biggest fallen a lot of them had ever seen. His steps announced his arrival so when he reached the throne room, there were many fallen and guardians alike waiting for him. 

He was greeted by triumphant fallen calls as he returned to his throne but he was immediately approached by a hunter who looked worried. “welcome back Mithrax” Anne greeted, you could tell she wanted to push more questions on him but resisted.

“Same could be said to you, apologies for not being here” he nodded “pup, come out”. At the order, the young girl climbed out from behind him. Mithrax lifted the young girl and put her in the hunters arms “your pup is trained well”.

The hunter immediately broke down into happy tears before settling weakly on the floor to hold the girl tightly “thank the traveller...” she muttered before looking to Mithrax “thank you!”. 

“Is fine” he nodded before resting properly in the throne, exhaustion still hung off him heavily despite looking better. He let out an order and a captain approached him to start speaking with him.

Kyraas cuddled her mother happily and equally as tearfully “hey mum, how was your trip?”.

Anne laughed weakly “it was good until I got home and discovered you’d gone for a walk” she sighed with defeat “what did I tell you about leaving” she asked playfully. 

“I was with Mithrax the whole time, I promise” she explained. 

“I know” she pressed a kiss to her head “it’s ok, your not in trouble” she mused “what did you guys get up too?”.

“Mithrax carried me a lot, he’s really fast” she smiled “and he is really good at climbing” she giggled “he walked on his hands and feet too, although he started getting sick, I tried to share my food with him but he said he didn’t like human food” she looked unsure before nodded “and he fought this really big captain, almost as big as him but not quite and there was a big cloud of white as he pulled on mithrax’s breathing pipes”.

Anne listened with amusement before looking concerned “really? Was Mithrax ok?” 

“He said he was, glider fixed his armour for him” she nodded matter of factly.

Anne glanced at Mithrax looking worried before turning her attention back to the girl “good, well I’m proud of you, your a good girl” she assured. 

The girl looked proud “I like staying with Mithrax, he let me play when it was safe and his cloak is super warm” she smiled “he told me stories too”.

Anne looked amused “well maybe you can stay with him again” she sighed “next time there won’t be any fallen” she promised before reluctantly letting her go and eyeing her new outfit “what’s this?”.

“Glider made it for me” she smiled before showing off her outfit, it looked a bit dirty now, but it was still in great condition. 

The ghost appeared proudly “after speaking with Mithrax, I made something to assist him in the case that we might of had to go somewhere, so I made her a harness to keep her safe on his back and an outfit to keep the elements off her, the cloak is my pride though. Anything under the cloak is extra difficult to see in sensors and scans” she smiled.

Anne smiled “no wonder we didn’t pick her up then, they picked up mithrax but they thought he was alone until this one stepped out and no one dared try and take her because apparently he threatened to fight them if they tried”. 

“He didn’t let her out of his sight” gilder assured “he didn’t even let elsie take her when we got here, he insisted on being the one to return her to you”.

Anne looked at the captain with admiration “best babysitter ever” she chuckled “beside you gilder” she added.

The ghost laughed “I have to agree, nothing better than the biggest guard dog ever”.

“Well, you are filthy, so let’s give you a bath before it gets too cool” Anne mused playfully before standing and picking her up.

“Ok! There was no time for baths with Mithrax” she smiled. 

“I bet” Anne nodded before giving the room a glance, Mithrax was still catching up with his houses affairs and the guardians seemed to be waiting for orders awkwardly, Anne gave them a signal and they followed Anne out. After giving them some orders, she settled into making sure kyraas was clean and looked after. 

While the eliksni weren’t quite sure what to think of the guardians protection, they were kept mostly separate so no problems arose from their shared space, it took a few days for Mithrax to recover properly but his condition didn’t stop him from looking after his houses affairs and he was quite busy regardless. 


	23. A Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A truce between the vanguard and eliksni is finally achieved perhaps.

It was a few days before kyraas got to see Mithrax again and her family was quite protective and didn’t let her out of their sight but since elsie had to speak to Mithrax anyway, she brought the girl along with her to go see him.

Mithrax was where he usually was, populating the throne room looking thoughtful but he looked up as elsie entered beside Kyraas “ah, captain, was wondering where you were...” he looked to the girl “and your pup... haven’t seen for days... been told pup was being kept close to family”.

Kyraa looked to elsie and after a nod, sprinted over to climb up into the kells lap and up to his shoulder “hi Mithrax!” She gave him a hug and settled in his hold “are you feeling better?”.

“Yes, much better, pup is energetic as usual” he mused.

She nodded happily “I missed you” she smiled.

Elsie watched with amusement “you guys are so cute” she smiled “can I speak to you? The vanguard has requested an audience with you”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “what does vanguard want?”.

“They want to know what happened, that’s all, maybe we can help next time” elsie explained.

“Simple, more of house dusk then house light, forced to leave for safety” he muttered “when will they come?”.

“Today if you have the time?” Elsie offered.

After a moment of thought, the kell nodded “so be it, tell your vanguard then can come to house light, will speak to them”.

“Will do” she gave a salute “I’ll go meet them and bring them to you, she then looked at the girl “come on kyraas” she waved her over.

The girl looked disappointed “but I only just got here... can I stay? I’ll do what I’m told” she promised.

Elsie sighed and looked to Mithrax “you have to ask Mithrax, if he says you can stay, then I suppose you can”.

The girl looked hopefully to the kell “pleaaase? Can I stay with you? I’ll be quiet”.

The kell gave her a long look before nodding “pup can stay, gives Mithrax something to do, come get pup when want it”. The girl looked excited at this and gave Mithrax another hug.

Elsie nodded “ok, will do, I’ll be back with the vanguard” she then looked to kyraas sternly “behave!” She ordered simply before sighing and leaving. 

Mithrax watched her go before looking to the girl “hide, will go for walk” he ordered, shifting so she could crawl onto his back and hide under his cloak happily. He then got up leave and headed to the roof where he climbed up to the radio tower and once settled, he helped the girl into his lap as he looked out over the horizon “how is pup?”.

“Good” she smiled happily as she enjoyed the veiw “why are we here?” She asked curiously. 

“Likes to watch” he replied “quiet, staying inside boring” he admitted “thought pup might like to go outside”.

“Mum won’t let me play outside anymore” kyraas replied with a moody sigh.

“Wants to protect pup, may be too protective” he admitted.

“Well I can look after myself” she replied proudly, crossing her arms.

Mithrax laughed at this but pet her head “pup is fierce indeed” he agreed before looking thoughtful and he climbed down “hide, misraaks play with pup”.

“Yes sir” she smiled and climbed onto his back happily.

Mithrax waited until she was fine before going to the edge of the building and he started scaling the wall down effortlessly and once on the ground, he let her down “what would pup like to play?”.

The girl looked thoughtful “oh, can we play hide and seek?” She asked.

Mithrax looked thoughtful before nodding “so be it” he crouched and covered his eyes with a hand “misraaks find pup”. The girl looked excited before taking off to find somewhere to hide. They were at the back of the building which was spotted with old rusting shells that were once vehicles, technically, her mother had told her to stay out of them but there wasn’t many other places to hide other than inside and she wanted to avoid that so she carefully climbed inside one of the shells and ducked down. 

Mithrax allowed her to hide despite already having the advantage of being able to track her scent, however he played along and got to his hands to crawl and search with ominous growls “where could pup be..” he mused. He allowed her to hide for a good few minutes before following her scent and he ominously leaned on the car before leaning down to see her “found pup” he chuckled.

She gave a playful scream before laughing “ok, my turn to find you” she smiled and climbed out of the shell carefully and she covered her eyes and started counting. 

Mithrax didn’t want to go too far but he played along and after a moment of thought headed inside, as he did however, he went out of his way to leave a trail that he hoped she would follow, once inside, he climbed up to rest above the door way and waited. 

The girl took a second to look around before noticing the rather obvious trail he’d left. She could see his hand and foot prints as well as stands of fabric that led the way and she looked triumphant as she thought it was going to be easy, as she got inside however, her trail disappeared and she looked around carefully. They were in a storage room that was spotted with rubble and stuff, she eagerly started looking behind bigger piles of scraps but she didn’t look up so she didn’t spot the huge kell silently climbing up to the ceiling. 

Mithrax let her search with amusement leaving the girl looking a bit confused as she wonder how the huge kell had disappeared so easily, she ended up climbing onto some crates carefully to look around with confusion. She however still didn’t look up so all Mithrax had to do was lurk above her. After a few more minutes of searching, the girl looked frustrated and went to leave only to be stopped when she heard a growl.

“You are in here” she called out with determination, looking around for the source from the doorway.

Mithrax has of course followed her and quietly climbed down, still out of sight but he playfully leaned down to pat her head making the girl jump with a surprised scream “of course” he mused. 

The girl looked angry before breaking into giggles “that’s cheating! I can’t climb like that”.

“Would have seen if looked up” he chuckled before dropping down with a loud thud “eliksni slippery, could be anywhere, use as lesson”.

The girl sighed “ok, so you win then, I thought it would be easy since your so big” she admitted.

“Hide and seek easy for eliksni, perhaps another game?” He offered.

“Yeah, you cheat” she smiled “so how about we play...” she looked thoughtful “oh, how about we explore?”.

“Hmm? How to play” Mithrax asked.

“Well, we look around, and imagine we are doing cool stuff” she smiled.

“Hmm, lead way then” he nodded.

Kyraas looked excited as she led the way outside, acting as if she had never seen the place before, she ducked behind cars and pointed out things she could see and despite taking a moment to understand the game, Mithrax started to play along. 

The girl ducked behind a car and waved the kell over “take cover!” She ordered playfully before ducking up “I see a bunch of cabal over there” she pointed out.

Mithrax ducked down with amusement “what will pup do?”.

“Here’s the plan, I’m gonna go nova bomb them” she smiled “give me cover fire” she started playfully dodging between cars before climbing up one a little away and she jumped off with a battle cry, pretending to throw a nova bomb, complete with the sounds of explosions, she laughed triumphantly and turned around before looking dramatic “behind you! Use your slam titan!”.

Mithrax laughed before standing and stomping since she was far enough away, causing a wall of wind to rock the cars around him with metallic groans. The kell then teleported to the girl and picked her up “oh no, metal giants drop pod, run” he teleported away playfully.

“Oh, that was close” she sighed dramatically as the kell put her down and she pretended to shoot the new invisible enemies until she dramatically fell down “ugh, they got me... avenge me...” she muttered “bleh”.

Mithrax chuckled and picked up the girl before tickling her making her squeal with surprise “oh no, wild kell, how will hero survive” he teased.

The girl attempted to escape but could only laugh and wriggle as she was tickled “Ah, help!”.

“Kells prisoner now” he chuckled before looking up as he smelt someone nearby. The titan approached followed by two figures, he paused. 

Kyraas looked around with a giggle “oh, elsie is back, hello” she waved happily “are you here to save me?”.

Elsie pauses before looking torn “what if I’m even worse?” She chuckled.

“Oh, Mithrax, save me!” She laughed, hiding from her playfully. 

The kell responded with a low growl “will fight for pup” he chuckled facing the titan. 

Elsie looked defensive before playfully circling the kell and after a short chase where the kell easily dodged the titan by teleporting and jumping over the rusted shells, they stopped with a laugh.

“Hah, I’ll get you next time!” Elsie announced villainously, shaking her fist.

“Would like to see try” replied mithrax before crouching with a chuckle “is your vanguard here?”.

“Yeah, I went to bring them to you but you were nowhere to be seen, lo and behold, here you are playing pretend” she gave a playful grin “it suits you Mithrax” she teased.

“Human games unlike eliksni games, surprisingly entertaining” he admitted “pup, hide, will take inside”.

Kyraa nodded with a giggle “he is the best, he did this big slam kinda like yours but without the blue stuff!” She carefully crawled to his back and hid under his cloak.

“You know, I swear your more eliksni than awoken sonetimes” elsie shook her head with a sigh.

“Will teach to be great eliksni” Mithrax assured before standing “perhaps better than captain” he chuckled.

“Rough” she playfully put her hand on her heart “that hurt” she smiled.

Mithrax effortlessly approached the vanguard, stepping over the ruined vehicles “long time since seen vanguard “ he greeted with a nod.

The vanguard themselves looked amused, even Zavala had a small smile. “As always, it’s a pleasure” Ikora greeted “I see you have a friend” she mused.

The girl leaned out to give the vanguard a cheeky smile “hello ikora, commander Zavala”.

Mithrax nodded “pup is amusing pet, could be strong eliksni in time” he mused “until then, quite entertaining”.

“And Anne was worried about me stealing her kid” she chuckled as she caught up.

“Well I’m glad the child is safe, I heard about what you did for her and I wish to give you our appreciation, we hope our assistance is enough to show it” Zavala nodded.

“Looking after pup easy, pups ghost took care of health, misraaks simply protect” he nodded “take responsibilities seriously”. He looked around thoughtfully “follow, do not threaten eliksni, will not threaten vanguard” he promised as he started leading the way slowly so the guardians could keep up.

The kell ducked back inside the building and storage room before heading to the corner and crawling through another smaller doorway and they found themselves in the back of the eliksni breeding room. The vanguard had not seen anything like this before as the kell straightened up and moved into the room, he was approached by the young eliksni who didn’t hesitate to climb up and talk to him with growls and barks, kyraas popped out to frighten a few of them with a giggle and they chased her under his cloak with loud cries. 

Mithrax wasn’t bothered and crouched “pup may play”. The girl surfaced excitedly and jumped down to start chasing the young eliksni in response.

Ikora looked almost awed by the sight “this is remarkable”.

Mithrax looked to the warlock “young do not stay young as long as humans, are kept separate from rest of pack for both safety and learning... learn only from vandals and higher ranked, rare to see pups anywhere but where house based”.

Zavala looked unsure “you don’t seem to mind them climbing over you?”.

Mithrax shook his head “gives opportunity to teach to climb, not all things stay still, not all things move, but climbing and movement essential skill for eliksni, all eliksni need such skills, teach when young” he looked at the pups “eliksni born to fight, fight for place from birth, must earn place like all eliksni when old enough. learn to fight as pup... usually play more vicious, but guardian pup is more delicate, other games must be played”.

“Is that why you carry young kyraas as well?” Ikora asked.

“Faster to do so, but also to make stronger, believe ghost helps her hold on, but climbing makes her stronger, even guardian pup can be trained in ways of eliksni” he nodded “was quite impressed with her when had to leave here, did not complain, did as ordered”.

Ikora looked to elsie curiously “and you are all fine with this?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “well it was scary to start with, you know, a really really big kell with a tiny little girl... but he’s stronger than the three of us combined, so if anything were to happen... well the chances of anything happening with him around, she won’t be getting hurt from any enemy, the most that would happen is she might fall over and hurt herself” she sighed “and as for him hurting her, I think kyraas has him wrapped around her little finger to be honest” she shrugged “apparently she can turn almost any monster into a sweetheart” she smiled.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “pup has charm” he admitted “misraaks curious, learns about humans”.

“So can we get to business?” Zavala asked carefully before looking around.

“Yes, get on with it” Mithrax nodded “what does vanguard want?” He sat down heavily and watched the two expectantly, ignoring the odd pup who came over to see what they were doing.

“Well we were wondering what happened, if we could make a report so we can predict future events” Ikora explained.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “simple disagreement with house dusk, thinks house light betray eliksni, wants to kill for crimes, not sure why wanted pup but tried to take, did not get far”.

Ikora looked unsure “so they don’t like our truce?”.

“Of course not, guardians kill eliksni, house light only safe because wants to work with, other eliksni do not believe guardians would befriend, do not allow thought” he looked to the vanguard “guardians spread fear among even house light, believe in possibility of friendship but not completely” he looked thoughtful “many think Misraaks mad, but misraaks know, was saved by guardian on titan, not all guardians alike, not all eliksni alike either”.

Zavala looked unsure “titan you say?”.

“Mm, name your kind give to water moon, followed to escape iron giants and take advantage of guardians, left house of dusk after” he admitted “wanted power at time but preferred to stay alive, gave power to guardians” he chuckled. 

Zavala looked a bit shocked “we had reports and translations... but to think it was you”.

Elsie looked unsure “you didn’t happen to capture some guardians did you? Or sword fight a knight?”.

“Knight is tall stone being with sword?” Mithrax asked. Elsie nodded and he chuckled “yes, guardian killed knight, had lost crew, would have lost, was weakened by enemies before”.

“I remember you” elsie sighed “it’s a small galaxy apparently” she smiled “I was one of the guardians there”.

Mithrax looked amused “ah, wanted to thank guardian, can now thank, assume was with fireteam?” He asked.

“Yeah, we were the only guardians with light at the time” she nodded “your welcome” she chuckled.

Ikora sighed “the light works in mysterious ways, but we are getting off track, according to what information we could find, there was a large movement of fallen, but we weren’t sure where they were going until elsies fireteam returned from their strike on Nessus”. 

“Attacked late in afternoon, knew were coming from vanguard network, friend Skye taught to see so knew to prepare to leave, sent pups and carers away before moving eliksni, were almost finished moving when struck” he looked annoyed “clever eliksni, distracted misraaks and crew so could steal pup but smelled her, looked for pup but was gone so tracked her, killed captain and took back before helping protect crew, once crew gone, only Mithrax and pup left so ran, could not keep up, big enough to leave in distance” he nodded.

Ikora went to continue before she jumped with surprise as she felt claws in her armour and she suddenly had a young pup climbing up her side, investigating her curiously, she looked uncomfortable “uh, hello young one...” she chuckled. The pup gave her a playful growl before settling on her back and looking over her shoulder, curiously patting her near bald head. She cleared her throat to try and focus “uh, apologies, the uh.. child, she was with you the whole time?”.

Mithrax nodded with a chuckle “yes, carried pup on back, hidden under cloak for warmth, protection”.

Zavala looked almost amused at Ikora but focused “were you followed?”.

Mithrax nodded “was tracked by wretch and crew, killed all, moved on, pup unharmed, was not followed after, took ether in fight but not enough to kill misraaks” he assured.

“What was your plan?” Ikora asked.

“Went to old place, stayed there alone long time ago, was much smaller at time, but was safe for pup and I, planned to return after many days, didn’t think dusk would stay, but didn’t want to risk” he nodded.

“Weren’t you starving?” Zavala asked before he too made friends with two pups who looked at his armour with fascination, scaling him easily “uh... right” he muttered and continued to focus, elsie didn’t miss out on the attention either as the pups climbed her and tried to prompt her into playing a game with them since she looked mostly fallen. 

“Yes, but would have been fine” he nodded “would have made it back before death, expected house to find misraaks but assumed were busy protecting selves, was not expecting whet happened, would have been fine if not lost ether” he admitted.

Ikora looked thoughtful “so do you think the house of dusk will return?”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “perhaps, but depends on if they accept defeat, house light was prepared, not sure if they will try again knowing house light saw through actions, eliksni don’t like losing surprise, if do, will be even greater attack, but if guardians here, imagine that house dusk won’t get far” he chuckled.

Ikora nodded “of course, would you allow me to set up a... command centre here... I’d like to set up an extensive sensor system like the city, we have wall, but our satellites and sensors are spread even further than that and in most cases, we can pick up a fight before it gets anywhere near”.

“Would guardians look after?” Mithrax asked “would prefer to have eliksni who can use in case guardians not around, Skye teach eliksni how to understand some guardians tech”.

“Of course, I could leave the construction in skyes hands if you’d prefer?” She offered.

“Works for misraaks” he nodded “how long will guardians be staying?” He continued.

“That is your choice” Zavala replied “they were sent in response to your disappearance, however the city offers their support, as long as you don’t mind the guardians coming and going as the guard changes, you can have our support until you decide you don’t need it” he assured.

Mithrax nodded thoughtfully “will accept guardians help, Captain is responsible for guardians however, considered part of crew” he looked to elsie “Will elsie be staying?”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “either i, or my fireteam will be here, is that fine?”.

“Yes, is fine, even if not here, as long as misraaks can speak with, should not be problem, misraaks will not hesitate to restrain guardians if needed” he assured.

“Of course, if anything happens, I’ll return immediately” elsie nodded.

“Good, captain of light makes good eliksni leader” he looked to the vanguard then “if vanguard insists on helping, then must accept consequences if guardians misbehave, elsie will punish how sees fit, if chooses to send to vanguard, misraaks expects punishment to match crime” he nodded “here elsie is higher than vanguard, earned her place, elsie respects vanguard, but do not mistake for being of higher ranked... in eliksni eyes, vanguard is crew of elsie”. 

This surprised the vanguard but they nodded reluctantly “of course” Ikora replied “I cannot pretend to understand the eliksni, but your words are clear” she nodded.

“Indeed” Zavala agreed.

Mithrax looked pleased “good, will offer place for guardians to rest, look forward to continued truce”. He then looked around before letting out a loud call and the young girl popped out of one of the houses to run over.

“Yes Mithrax?” She asked happily. 

“Hide, pup can play later” he ordered.

“Yes sir” she smiled before climbing back onto his back, mithrax then growled an order and the rest of the pups scattered.

“Follow” Mithrax ordered as he stood and started leading the way through the fallen settlement. The eliksni watched the vanguard carefully with curiosity but didn’t question their kell. Once they reached the throne room, he once more let kyraas down before settling in the throne “so was there any other business that vanguard wanted”.

“Not currently” Zavala replied “however, we look forward to staying in contact with you, in fact, would you accept one more gift from the vanguard?” He asked.

“Depends on gift” Mithrax nodded.

“I’d like to offer you a companion, a ghost from the ghost observation network, he requested to have permission to enter the house of light, but the vanguard cannot give that permission” Ikora explained before holding out her hand “he would act as your personal ghost and as long as no harm comes to him, will assist in any matters he can”. A plain ghost with a four pointed shell appeared above her hand and looked at the kell with awe looking slightly afraid but he was clearly trying not to look it.

Mithrax looked surprised “vanguard would give Mithrax gift from great machine?”.

"Yes, it’s not... a usual gift, however, dare here requested it himself, you don’t have to accept him” she assured gently.

Mithrax looked thoughtful before motioning the ghost over “come gift, what is name?”.

The ghost floated over nervously “uh, well I call myself dare but you could call me what you want” he replied “I thought I could maybe help the vanguard and the the eliksni... offer a direct line between each other and learn about the eliksni...”.

Mithrax caught the ghost carefully “different shell again” he observed “such small things, but holds such clever things” he inspected it thoughtfully before letting it go “gift can stay, can gift understand eliksni?”.

“I have a translation module” he nodded “uh, I might not be able speak it perfectly or understand everything but I should understand most things” he assured “you can teach me if I get something wrong” he promised.

Mithrax nodded “what would gift like to be called?”.

The ghost looked thoughtful before nodded “you can name me, I’ll be your ghost until further notice and it’s a tradition for some ghosts to be named by their guardian, or kell... in my case”.

Mithrax chuckled “call gift tyksis” he looked to the vanguard “misraaks appreciates gift, Will take care of tyksis”.

“If you need to contact us, just let your ghost know and he will do that for you” Zavala replied.

The ghost now named tyksis floated over to them eagerly “thank you for this opportunity, I won’t let you down” he promised. 

“We know” Ikora nodded “let me know if anything happens” she mused before nodding “the vanguard must return but it has been a pleasure” she assured.

“Indeed, take care” Zavala added.

“I’ll see you guys out” elsie nodded before the three of them excused themselves leaving the girl alone with the kell and his new ghost. 

Kyraas had waited patiently until they were finished talking before climbing up to Mithrax “you have a ghost too!” She enthused before waving to him eagerly “hello k-... what’s your name?” She asked.

The ghost floated over happily “tyksis” he replied proudly “your the hunters child right?”.

“My mum is boa” kyraas replied matter of factly “the best hunter” she assured with a giggle.

Mithrax watched with amusement “thought gifts looked for guardians, second gift to belong to being that isn’t guardian” he observed.

“Oh, well a lot of ghosts search for their guardians... I don’t know where mine is” he admitted “they might still be somewhere out there but not certain, I decided to help the vanguard since I couldn’t find them and I find the uh, eliksni facinating”.

“Mithrax is cool” kyraas smiled “it’s going to be fun” she promised.

“Kyraas, come on, time to pack up, we are going home” Anne called out from the doorway.

Kyraas instantly looked depressed “but... ok” she muttered before climbing down.

Mithrax briefly stopped her and pet her “misraaks see pup again, did well, should be proud” he nodded “proud eliksni of house light” he assured “take care, listen to mother” he mused.

The girl gave him a nod before slipping off his lap “bye Mithrax, by tyksis!” She waved before running to her mother.

“Thank you Mithrax” Anne called out with a wave before picking the girl up “I’ll see you next time” she nodded before leaving as quietly as she had appeared. 

Once they were gone, Mithrax turned to the ghost and tilted his head curiously and instead of speaking common, started speaking fallen “time to test tyksis, can understand Mithrax?”.

The ghost took a second before nodding and after a moment replied slowly “yeess?”.

“Ah, good, clever ghost, what is tyksis good at?” He asked curiously “gilder says good with armour”.

“Oh... uh” the ghost was slow to respond, not used to speaking eliksni “good at watching and communication, works in... uh... situation centre at tower”.

“Good, call friend Skye to misraaks, can do that?” He asked.

The ghost looked thoughtful before expanding and looking around “uh, warlock right?... there she is... hope... opening comms” he nodded.

“Hope speaking, how can arctic help?” Replied a ghost cheerfully. 

“Mithrax would like to see skye if your still at the settlement” tyksis explained. 

“Sure, who is this by the way?” Hope asked casually “I don’t recognise your name”.

“Oh, it’s new, I’m mithrax’s new ghost” he replied proudly “he asked me to call Skye up”.

“Ah, no wonder, well we will be there shortly, see you soon” she mused.

The ghost then looked to Mithrax and passed on the message happily. As promised, Skye jogged into the room after a few minutes and gave a polite bow “how can I help sir?” She smiled.

“Ghosts wonderful things” Mithrax chuckled before nodding “did vanguard speak with you?”.

Skye looked amused before looking unsure and nodding “oh yes, I’m in charge of setting up your command centre, I was going to come see you about that actually, I got distracted” she admitted “I was just about to head home”.

“That’s fine, was wondering what friend needed from eliksni” Mithrax asked.

Skye looked thoughtful “well that depends on the specifications you want for the eliksni tech, I’m going to split the room up into two sides, guardian tech on one, eliksni tech on the other but each side will show the same information and link to the same data points” she explained “is that going to work for you?, oh and I suppose do you want to be able to use this tech?”.

The kell pondered the idea before nodding “sounds fine, can teach Misraaks to use, but will largely be used by captains and vandals, don’t need to consider misraaks” he assured “as long as guardians and eliksni can work together without issue”.

Skye nodded and crossed her arms “easy then, I’ll sort the guardians tech and bring it all back with me, but when I get back, maybe I can work with the eliksni to build their stuff and we can get it all up and running” she smiled “I’ll get Anne and elsie to set up the network for me”.

“Looking forward to it” he nodded “is good working with Skye” he admitted “warlocks clever, can send tyksis things that Skye needs and eliksni will make sure they have for when you return”.

“Was that all?” Skye asked.

“Yes, may go, will see friends soon” he mused. Skye gave a salute before turning and leaving just as quickly as she’d come. “No wonder guardians react so quickly” he muttered thoughtfully. 


	24. Time Passes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guardians never change but children and eliksni do

It had been years since the initial truce between house light and the city has been made. The city provided assistance to the eliksni and in return, friendly eliksni offered assistance in the field with the added bonus of not killing guardians on sight. It wasn’t perfect however and some guardians didn’t agree with the truce, others killed by accident as old habits died hard, but most situations were not irreparable as the vanguard took punishment seriously enough that the eliksni were satisfied. 

The three responsible of the truce were considered the ones to talk too regarding any fallen matters as over the years, they learned and mastered the arts of understanding fallen, Skye in particular started learning how to speak some eliksni although she could not physically make some of the sounds needed for some things. The worlds of guardians however changed as often as night turned to day so it was comfortable. 

Anne’s child however had a strange birth and that put her squarely in the middle of being a city child and a child born among the eliksni. She was wild like the eliksni and in her time had picked up strange habits, she however was much like her mother, growing to dislike the tower because it felt so restricted after growing up in the wild freedom of the eliksni. That wasn’t the only reason however, she was strange and kids were brutal, she was bullied because of her oddities that came with having a guardian and eliksni family. 

She dreaded school as she hadn’t been able to make a connection with anyone and she had no friends, however, for her family, she put up a brave front. Kyraas found herself in front of her school facing elsie and she gave the titan a tight hug “I’ll see you after school” she smiled.

“Of course” elsie mused and ruffled her hair playfully “it’s just us tonight so we have whatever you feel like tonight” she promised “have fun”.

The girl nodded and let the titan go with a sigh before waving as she took off with a jog, leaving her alone to face the day. She immediatly looked annoyed as she took a deep breath and turned to walk into the school in a heavy silence, It felt like a death sentence. They stared and whispers started as soon as she entered the doors and she ignored them as she moved through the school to her classroom and she settled at the back of the class in wait. 

It was mere minutes before she was joined by her classmates and her usual opponents walked up to her desk laughing, the leader was a human boy who slammed his hands on her desk with a joking yell before laughing “did you understand that? It means worthless in fallen” he joked with a grin.

Kyraas didn’t acknowledge him, she was used to things like this and after a moment the kid looked annoyed “oi, im talking to you wild girl” he threatened.

Kyraas finally looked up with a bored sigh “I’m sorry, didn’t see you there, thought it was the wind” she muttered “what do you want?”.

“I was just going to say, nice babysitter, your mum pay for a titan to be your bodyguard?” He chuckled “it’s almost like you were scared of getting hurt”.

The girl bit her lip with annoyance reminding herself they weren’t worth it “oh look, there’s the teacher” she replied dryly.

The boy went to argue before an older women sternly took the classes attention and the group growled as they had to sit down.

Despite her attitude, Kyraas was top of the class, she had a ghost and a warlock to study with so school was almost trivial for her, it was behaving that was the problem and as her patience wore thin through out the day, the end of the day was always when she threatened to snap and lose her temper. Today however, she had woken to find out that this weekends trip to the house of light had been canceled as her family had been dragged into going to mars for a a strike, to say she had started off in a bad mood was an understatement, she hadn’t left the tower for a month because her family had been busy. 

Kyraas understood that because they were guardians, sometimes this happened but it didn’t suck any less as she got stuck in the tower with civilians who treated her like she was some wild thing despite her usually well natured personality. While she took after her mother in how moody she could be, she definitely favoured elsie and skyes type of general happiness when she was around people she knew. 

She didn’t have a very good understanding of a civilians life, however her unique background meant that she knew how to fight and mildly control her light among other stranger talents. She could climb almost anything if she had her climbing knives not to mention speak and understand quite a lot of the eliksni language. She had a high understanding of the eliksni race not to mention could fight effectively as a both a guardian and eliksni. School had tested her patience and she had struggled to resist destroying those who insisted on making her life hell. 

Class was incredibly boring and annoying as she was berated with dirty looks and giggles, however she didn’t blink an eye or answer a question wrong, school was effortless and she eagerly escaped the class once break time hit. She escaped quickly to the indoor garden that made up the replacement outdoors and headed as far away from the building as she could, settling against the wall with a moody sigh “hey gilder, can I have my cloak?” She muttered.

The golden shelled ghost appeared carefully “of course, but should you do that here?” She asked.

“If I don’t, I’m actually going to kill everyone at this school” she growled.

The ghost sighed and a bundle of cloth appeared in the girls hands as well as a sewing box beside her, Kyraas settled into starting to embroider the familiar mark of house light into the cloth. 

“You really wanted to go didn’t you” gilder sighed with guilt.

“Of course, I haven’t seen Mithrax for years” she complained “it’s boring as shit here and the people aren’t much smarter” she shot a glare to the slowly crowding garden.

Gilder looked thoughtfully to the children “well... ok, maybe your right about the children...”.

“An eliksni pup is smarter” Kyraas spat, focusing once more on her cloak.

“Well surely we can go see Mithrax next weekend maybe, I know your mum or elsie has to go back eventually. 

Kyraas rolled her eyes “if I didn’t have to go to school, I could just go during the week but of course not” she muttered before pricking her finger making her flinch and curse under her breath. 

“Ah, sorry...” gilder apologised.

“My fault” Kyraas muttered before sucking on her thumb moodily.

The ghost looked up before scowling “the peanut gallery is back” she muttered. 

Kyraas looked up to see the familiar sight of her favourite assholes and she took a deep breath “remind me why I can’t just destroy these asses”.

“Because your family will get in trouble and you really will be stuck in the tower cause you’ll be grounded” gilder replied with a sigh “stay strong” she muttered before retreating to the girls pocket.

As they approached, the leader once again took charge “oh look, this looks cool” he teased before tearing the cloak from her hands roughly with a laugh.

Kyraas glared at them “you better give that back” she threatened. 

The kid spread the cloak out to take a look at it, it was made of thick felt like fabric with painted marks on it, it was not the average hunters cloak and it was obvious “wait, this looks like shit, where’d you get this? The trash?” He joked before laughing.

Kyraas stood to face them “oh if only you knew... give it back”.

“No” the kid replied before wrapping the cloak up and throwing it to his friends, Kyraas attempted to catch it but missed as they kept it out of her hands and that was it, light started burning around her as she let out an animalistic growl.

“You want to know where I got it, I’ll show you” she threatened before thrusting her force into a heavy shove and the kid was thrown off guard, falling heavily. He went to get up but Kyraas didn’t let him and stood on his chest before dropping down to thrust a hand on his throat, clutching it threateningly “it was given to me by the kell of of the house of light” she growled “and normally, this would get you killed where you stand” she leaned down, squeezing tighter “you don’t want to make enemies of an eliksni trained fighter... they fight to the death”.

The kid gasped with fear “you won’t get away with this”.

Kyraas was thrown off by a heavy shove from his friends and she rolled back to her feet effortlessly before searching for her cloak, on seeing it in another of the kids hands, she darted forward into a sprint and threw her weight into a shoulder charge, winding them so she could retrieve her cloak and she lifted it above her head and put it on proudly before taking a defensive stance as the other kids surrounded her. She easily dodged the kids, elbowing one heavily before thrusting her knee into another’s stomach until she was facing the leader and she didn’t hesitate to bring her fist back to nail the kid on the shoulder and followed up with another to his chest and he collapsed, she simply kicked him over then and stood on him again. 

“You can’t hurt a civilian” he spat out quickly, fear heavy in his voice”.

“Your not nearly civil enough to be considered a civilian, your lower then a dreg” she replied darkly “touch me again and I’ll make you regret it” she then walked away towards the school. She felt the eyes follow her and she knew she’d done wrong but she didn’t care. As she heard a stern voice call out to her, she reacted in the heat of the moment, sprinting inside the school to grab her stuff before leaving “that’s it, I’m done” she growled as she escaped the school. 

“Wait, Kyra, think about this, your going to get in huge trouble, if we explain maybe-“. 

Gilder was cut off the girl “I don’t care, they can all jump off the tower” she muttered “I want to go to the eliksni”.

She suddenly heard more voices calling her and started sprinting through the tower to avoid being caught by the guardians who would surely drag her back to school. She managed to evade the guardians for twenty minutes until she made it back home and she let herself inside and went upstairs to her bedroom. 

“What’s your plan then?” Gilder asked with exasperation, appearing once more. 

“I don’t know but I’m leaving the tower” she assured and started packing with determination “in fact, I wonder if Mithrax would pick me up?” She looked to the ghost “call Mithrax for me”. 

Gilder shook her head “come on, your parents are going to lose their minds, you can’t do this”.

“I don’t care, tell them where I’m going or something but I’m not staying here” she glared. 

The ghost stared at her before sighing with defeat “ok, give me a minute” she muttered. The kells ghost answered quickly and gilder expanded to project the kells voice.

“Yes, misraaks speaking, who speaks...” he muttered with a growl.

“Hey Mithrax, is me Kyraas” she replied.

The kell instantly sounded more interested “ah, pup, long time no speak, what can do?” He asked with amusement.

“Well, uh, can you pick me up if I get out of the city?” Kyraas asked “I can explain, I swear... I just...” she sighed “I’m in trouble and I just need to get out of the city” she muttered.

Mithrax broke into a laugh “ah, pup like mother, what did pup do?”.

Kyraas sighed “I kinda beat up these kids, they were bullying me and i snapped... I kinda went a bit eliksni on them” she admitted awkwardly “uh, look, elsies going to be super mad at me and so is everyone else but please, please help me” she looked hopeful “I just want out of this god damn prison” she admitted “these kids are lower than dregs”.

Mithrax was quiet for a moment “sure, Misraaks meet pup if can escape city, give misraaks location when safe”.

“Your the best!” Kyraas enthused “ok, I’ll get out of here and then meet you” she promised. 

“Misraaks believes, will see pup soon” he mused “however, will have to tell family once safe, is only request”.

“Deal, I don’t care if I get in trouble as long as I’m not in the city, I can’t care if you punish me” she smiled.

“Misraaks will not, sounds like pup needed to put dregs in place” he admitted “that is eliksni way, however can not save from family, will request punishment takes place in house light” he promised.

“Yes! Thank you!” Kyraas replied gratefully “ok, I gotta pack, I’ll message you soon” she promised and gilder hung up. 

“Your really sure about this?” Gilder asked.

Kyraas nodded with determination and set to packing before armouring up and gilder reluctantly gave her her stealth cloak which created a scrambling field around her. Once she was ready, she slipped out of the house casually and headed trough the tower trying to look as casual as possible just in case people were looking for her still. She managed to get most of the way before she was spotted and she took off with a sprint to head down to the cargo hold of the tower and ducked into hiding as she was followed. After a tense half hour, she was able to slip into the elevator down to the city and she escaped into the maze like city that sprawled beneath the towers protecting the city.

The rest of the trip was pretty easy as no one recognised her in the city and after a few hours walk, she made it to the South Gate leading out of the city. This was where things were going to be interesting because the gate was guarded by numerous guardians. After thinking about it, she gave it her best attempt before being caught by a particularly observant titan and he dragged her into the guard house for questioning.

As the titan sat down across from her, he crossed his arms expectantly “right, who are you; your very young to be trying to leave the city” he muttered.

“I’m just small, I’m not that young” argued Kyraas with annoyance. 

“Who are you” the titan repeated “if your a guardian, you have to have a name”.

The girl looked unsure “uh, it’s.. alice” she replied as convincingly as she could.

“Alice huh?” He didn’t look like he believed her “so why aren’t you in a ship? Where are you going... alice....”

“I picked up a bounty to check out a sensor near the wall” she explained, bullshitting as she went

“Mhmm, what sensor...” he asked expectantly.

“Uh... the... north wall sensor unit...” she replied.

The titan gave her a long stare “mhmm... this is the south wall... just so you know...”.

The girl cringed “shit... look, just let me out, I swear I’m just going to practice my shooting near the wall” she promised weakly.

He sighed “no chance kid... I have no idea where you got any of that, but I’m going to send you home, there’s some guardians heading back shortly and you are going with them”. He stood before heading out and locking the door behind him.

Kyraas let out an annoyed growl “I’m such an idiot!”.

“Look, maybe we should just go back... Elsie’s already going to be pissed...” gilder muttered.

“Well I don’t have a choice now” Kyraas grumbled. 

It was a few minutes before the door opened and the titan returned with another one and the girl’s heart instantly sank as there was a moment of recognition between the two. “This kid needs returning home” the first titan explained.

The second seemed to give the girl a long stare before taking her helmet off revealing elsie “I can do that... hello kyra” she muttered with a tone of voice that spelled out the deep trouble she was in.

“Uh... hi... elsie...” kyra muttered weakly “you uh... you were on the south wall... today...”.

The first titan looked confused “do you know this kid?” He asked.

Elsie nodded “she’s my daughter... aren’t you”.

The girl nodded awkwardly “yeah...”.

“You can leave, I’ll deal with her” elsie promised before giving the child a stern look “explain”.

Kyraas pulled off her helmet looking defeated “I had a fight...” she muttered “I’m in trouble and I decided to go to the house of light...”.

Elsie looked unsure of what to think “what was your plan? To just leave?”.

“Well I was going to tell you... just.... when I got there... Mithrax was going to pick me up and then I was going to say something...” she looked awkward before tearing up “I hate the tower... everyone thinks im weird, I’m not a guardian and I’m not eliksni, but at least I fit in with the eliksni kind of, I just get bullied at school and I can’t do shit because I could get you guys into trouble” she crossed her arms looking upset “I don’t want to get you guys into trouble...”.

The titan was quiet and after a moment softened “how long has this been happening”.

“Since forever... when the kids found out how weird I was, they teased me and now they try to get me to fight, they took my cloak and I tried, I really tried to keep my cool but I couldn’t, they want me to get kicked out of school” she muttered.

Elsie took a deep breath “how bad was it?”.

“I beat up four kids... winded them... threatened them... almost choked the leader...” she bit her lip “I lost my temper and they wanted to know where I got my cloak so I kinda went a bit eliksni on them...” she sighed “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have but I just...” she trailed off with defeat.

“I’m going to have to punish you...” she sighed “I don’t think you were necessarily in the wrong completely... but to fight like that... I have no choice, you can’t be fighting like that with civilians” she looked at the girl with guilt.

“I know....” Kyraas muttered “and it’s not like I was running away from punishment... I just... I wanted to be punished at the house of light... I hate the tower, and I hate being stuck there”.

Elsie looked thoughtful before finally nodding “here’s the deal, I will take you to meet Mithrax but when I get there tommorow, you will be punished for both fighting and leaving the tower without telling anyone, that in itself is an incredibly dangerous idea, what if something had happened to you” she sighed “deal?”.

The girl looked surprised “yes, uh, deal, I thought you’d drag me back... that’s great” she nodded eagerly “I promise I’ll behave and I’ll promise I’ll accept my punishment without complaint”.

Elsie stood and motioned for her to follow “so be it then, come on you...”.

“Yes mame” kyraas replied with a salute, getting up quickly to follow.

Elsie led them outside and without a command needed, her ship soared over the wall and slowed as it landed in front of them despite how tight it was. Once inside, elsie looked to the girl “where you meeting him anywhere specific?”.

“No, he said to tell him when I could get out of the city and he would pick me up” she admitted “I couldn’t quite escape” she chuckled awkwardly “and the fact I ran into you... what were the chances right?”.

Elsie smiled “I live on the wall, it shouldn’t be that surprising, however the coincidence that I was at the gate you were trying to break through... a little more impressive” she nodded “in that case, I can’t go too far, so I know a place” she turned to start playing with the cockpit. 

“Why aren’t you more angry?” Kyraas asked carefully “I mean I appreciate it, believe me, I just... Well I kinda thought you’d wanna kill me where I stood... you know?”.

Elsie smiled “im angry” she nodded “however, you are your mothers daughter and at the end of the day, if you put your mind to leaving, you probably will, you mother did before you after all” she took a moment to take off “I know that if I force you to stay, you will just try harder to escape” she admitted “and if you manage that, traveller knows if I’ll be able to find you again, so if you want to leave, I will allow it, but purely because you were going to the house of light, you are safe there and I was heading there in a day or so anyway”.

“Mum left the tower? I mean, of course she does but usually for work...” kyraas replied curiously.

Elsie nodded “yes, in fact it was when she was pregnant with you, about half way through, she couldn’t stand the tower anymore and she just left without a word... the vanguard was pissed and I couldn’t find her for months, when I did? She’d found herself some friends in the house of light... it was terrifying” she admitted.

“Oh... I guess it really does run in the family then....” Kyraas muttered “I didn’t know...” she sighed “so is that when you met Mithrax?”.

“Yes, he was not nearly as big then, his house was quite young, and Anne stayed with him until you were born and a few months after that, we all were punished severely for not telling the vanguard what we knew, I spent a few weeks in confinement myself... I swear I went crazy... or crazier than I already am” she chuckled. They had been flying for a few minutes and she came in for a landing “ok, give Mithrax a call”.

The girl waited until the ship was quiet before gilder called the kell and he seemed to be expecting her “ah, was starting to think pup was caught” he mused “pup ready for pick up?”.

Kyraas looked awkward as elsie smiled and remained silent as she listened. “Well I made it out, you can come pick me up, I’m pretty far away from the walls now... but I’m not alone” she muttered “I was caught” she admitted.

“Ah, not quite as stealthy as mother” he chuckled “can still come to misraaks?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah, I’m going to be punished when elsie gets to house light, but I’m still allowed to go” she bit her lip.

“Who caught pup?” Mithrax asked with amusement.

“Well I was trying to get through the South Gate and this titan... he didn’t believe me and was going to send me back to the city with someone who was heading back... and uh, that happened to be elsie” she cleared her throat awkwardly “so... elsie caught me” she muttered.

Mithrax laughed at this “unfortunate, but impressed, almost made it out, is captain with you?”.

“Yes she is” Kyraas sighed.

“Will look for captains ship then” he replied with amusement “well misraaks glad pup is safe, will meet as promised.” He asssured.

“Thank you for offering to help her Mithrax, I appreciate it” elsie added.

“There is captain, misraaks doesn’t mind, prefer to know where pup is going, is safe with house light” he replied “better for family and pup, Will pup be punished?”.

“Yes, however, I will punish her when I get to the house of light, I know better than to try and keep her somewhere she doesn’t want to be” she sighed. 

“Hunters like eliksni, strong wills, doesn’t like being tied down” he chuckled “will see friends soon” he mused.

As gilder closed, she looked a bit guilty to elsie “uh, I’m sorry, I couldn’t change her mind...”.

Elsie shook her head “I wouldn’t expect you to be able too” she assured “your good”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful “so when you first met Mithrax... what happened?”.

Elsie smiled “he killed me” she chuckled “not my brightest moment, I tried to take on a house of fallen, Anne saved my stupid ass, but after that, did a few favours here and there and became a captain” she shrugged “I worked for everything I have now” she nodded “I appreciate that way about fallen” she admitted “working for everything, it’s basic but reliable”.

“How did mum meet him then?” Kyraas continued.

“Well she was camping and they must of seen her, tracked her down just to see what she was up too and she naturally tried to defend herself” she looked thoughtful “she lost but lost with grace, she did her best to protect you... but she was about seven months along at the time and she just didn’t have it in her anymore, Mithrax took pity on her since she gave in, dropped her weapons and everything” she nodded “so Mithrax took her to his house and that’s history”.

“How big was he?” She looked curious.

“Oh, back then, he was bigger than a captain, but uh, maybe a head or two taller, he wasn’t the monster he is now” she smiled “after six months away, that’s when we noticed how big he’d become” she chuckled “he hasn’t gotten much bigger over the years since then”. Elsie looked thoughtful “he took an unexpected liking to you, whether he thought you an interesting pet or something, he has always liked you and he trained you pretty well, turned you into a little eliksni whether we wanted it or not”.

“Why couldn’t you stop him?” Kyraas asked.

“Because you adored him” elsie mused “i never thought I’d see a grown kell play pretend until you got to him” she sighed “it unfortunate that your particular... family history is causing you so much trouble” she admitted before motioning her over “come here”.

Kyraas bit her lip before walking over “I mean.. it’s not really your fault, I would probably have been bullied even if I didn’t grow up around eliksni” she admitted. 

Elsie pulled her into a tight hug “that doesn’t make it ok, i just wish I could help” she sighed.

The girl returned the hug with a sigh “i wouldn’t change anything if I had the choice” she assured “I have the best family ever” she smiled “I mean look at you, your higher ranked than the vanguard if you go to the right place, not to mention, your not grounding me yet... I’m getting off super easy” she smiled playfully.

“Hey, don’t test me” elsie threatened playfully before pressing a kiss on her head “I just dont want to lose you to something silly” she sighed.

“You know, sometimes I think your more my mum then mum is” she teased before grinning “oh, but then there’s the fact I’m almost more eliksni then civilian too, I mean, you should have seen my fight today” she backed up “and I know I shouldnt be proud but you should of seen their faces, I knocked them all on their ass and the guy I threatened to strangle... haha, add a growl and they were as white as a sheet”.

Elsie laughed “you are a little monster, you know that right? Mithrax taught you well”.

“I mean I used what you taught me, like a knee or punch right the stomach like you said dropped them immediately” she smiled “they were just giving me shit because I was embroidering my eliksni cloak, so I showed them where I got it” she grinned.

“Civilians haven’t seen a fight in their life, even the toughest of them fall like a sack of spuds if hit in the right place” elsie chuckled before getting up and opening up the hatch “you’ve got everything packed I assume?”.

“Right here” kyraas replied, holding up a large duffle bag.

Elsie took it before lifting herself out of the ship and the girl followed “Well, we have a bit of time, you wanna kill it with some friendly banter?” She asked as she dropped down to the ground and left the bag under her ship.

“Like fight?” Kyraas asked.

“Yeah, I haven’t trained you in a while, let me see what you can do” she mused “I’ll even take my armour off for you” she teased “give you a chance to hit me”.

“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Kyraas challenged and jumped down “let’s do it” she grinned and put her helmet on “I’ll make you regret the offer” she promised.

Elsie laughed and as she moved away to stand defensively, her armour disappeared around her leaving her just in leathers and a mark “I can’t wait” she replied “bring it on pup”.

“Only Mithrax gets to call me pup” Kyraas argued “and I’m not even a pup anymore”. The girl threw herself into the fight eagerly, she had been trained by a number of people but her best strength was her speed. Once she was going; even elsie sometimes had trouble hitting her, however elsies defence was flawless despite her speed and while she may not have had the time to get many hits in, she was usually the one left standing regardless because she could fight almost as long as it took to get even the fastest opponent down. She could outlast the best and enjoy it thoroughly. Elsie even let her practice her knife skills after a little bit.

They lost track of time in the fun of the moment and they didn’t notice the skiff in the distance until it had approached. By then, the movement distracted elsie long enough that Kyraas could thrust her knife into the Titans throat and elsie staggered “touché” she coughed.

“Uh... sorry” Kyraas muttered “I got carried away”.

Elsie laughed weakly and waved her off “my fault, however give me a second” she replied before crouching and after a moment, she collapsed lifelessly. 

Kyraas looked guilty and cleaned her knife before putting it away and looked to the skiff that hung not far from them. A large kell surfaced from the ship and dropped down to the ground with an ominous thud and walked towards them. 

Kyraas gave him an awkward wave “uh, hi Mithrax... thanks, you helped me win”.

The kell looked amused “anytime, disagreement with captain?” 

“Uh, no... just fun but I got carried away” she replied.

The titan faded into light before reappearing with a gasp and cough, she gave Mithrax a nod “good timing” she mused.

“Lost to pup, disappointed” Mithrax teased.

“Hey, I cant help that I instinctually watch the whole field as I fight” she smiled “you entered my battlefield” she walked over and offered her hand “how are you anyway?”.

“Good” Mithrax nodded and shook her hand “was not expecting pup and captain to be fighting” he admitted “wondered if Mithrax should interrupt potential discipline”.

Elsie smiled “I’d never discipline my child in that way, I assure you. no, we just had time so I thought I’d see how her training was going, that’s all” she shrugged “its going well evidently”.

Kyraas gave elsie a tight hug “thank you, it was fun, even though you didn’t even try” she mused.

“Hey, I kinda tried, your more delicate than me” she replied playfully “now, before you go running away, remember, when I get there and decide on your punishment, I don’t want to hear a whisper of a complaint or I will drag you back to the tower by your cloak and you will be grounded until I say so” she threatened “got it?”.

Kyraas nodded and swallowed hard “yes mame” she replied, just the thought was terrifying because she knew elsie wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly what she said, she’d done it before.

“Good” elsie smiled “keep that in mind and we can both get along” she assured as she stepped back and her armour reappeared around her. She then turned to Mithrax “until I get there, as long as she does as she is told, she is good” she nodded.

Mithrax chuckled “will keep pup in check” he mused as he crouched “when can misraaks expect captain?”.

“In the next day or two, depends on if the vanguard keeps me busy or not” she sighed.

“Skye is quite eager to see captain” he informed “wanted to give this”. He reached up to pull a package out from under his cloak, in his hands, it was small but as he put it in the Titans hands, she almost needed two hands to hold it.

Elsie opened it with confusion before pulling out a belt wrapped up in cloth and she smiled, unwrapping a new mark made of thick wool like fabric and painted with the house of light symbol, she had one like this but Skye had clearly made this one herself as it had little details like subtle metallic lines that looked like arc tracing along the fabric, there were small almost flower like explosions with hammers in the centre and smooth shields, each detail so subtle that you could almost miss it under the heavy painted mark of the house, she picked up a card before blushing “of course...” she muttered “thank you Mithrax” she looked appreciative.

“No problem, saw Skye working on for while, did easy part” he nodded.

Elsie smiled and replaced her current mark with the new one “well... I’ve been outdone” she sighed “I’ve got no idea what I’m going to get her now” she admitted “but anyway, I gotta go” she looked to Kyraas “give her a big hug for me ok?”.

“Will do” the girl nodded before going to pick up her bag and she looked up to Mithrax “I’m ready when you are” she smiled.

“Good, misraaks take bag, wonder if pup is still well trained, hide” he ordered with amusement.

The girl looked unsure “aren’t I too big for that?”.

“No, can carry captain, pup is easy” he chuckled. With that, the girl gave elsie a nod before scaling the kell and she ducked under his heavy blanket like cloak, she held on with the help of a handle that gilder had put there when she was little. Even as old as she was, it was hard to tell she was there when the kell stood “will see friends soon perhaps” he nodded before heading back to his skiff. He effortlessly reached up to grab and lift himself into the craft before allowing Kyraas to be free. 

He crawled through the craft because of his size but despite this, he made it look easy, almost insect like as he sqeezed through some tight spaces and Kyraas followed him as the skiff took off, heading back to the house of light. The kell curled up in the command room with a sigh and turned his attention to the girl as she sat beside him “so, pup got away with misbehaving for now?” He mused.

“Ah, yeah, I mean, I’m screwed when elsie catches up with me, but for now, I suppose I got away with it” she bit her lip “I don’t think she is angry with me for fighting... but mostly for leaving the tower and walking through the city by myself” she admitted.

“Have been told is big place, big places can be dangerous” he admitted “many people that may not be trustworthy” he brought a hand to the girls helmet “pup is capable” he mused.

“Why do you still call me pup?” She asked was a smile “you know I’m not a kid anymore right?”.

Mithrax chuckled “habit I suppose, but easier, still young so still pup in misraaks eyes”.

The girl sighed “your not going to baby me forever right?”.

“Baby pup? Not sure what means” she admitted.

“It means treat me like a kid... or a pup” Kyraas explained.

“Oh, no” he shook his head “stopped... baby pup long time ago, expects pup to work earn her place like everyone else” he assured “pup is however an amusing pet” he chuckled, poking her playfully “enjoys seeing humans change since guardians don’t”.

The girl blushed “am I an experiment?” She asked with shock.

“Hmm... is a word for it” he nodded “was curious to see what would happen, Human pup dangerous... has certain charm, hard not to grow to like, even enjoy” he chuckled “started as pet, is more pup now but still equally as interesting as pet”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful “so you do like me?”.

“Of course” mithrax assured “also enjoys family... captain is most impressive, a guardian who is equally as fierce as any eliksni and has will to be true eliksni is needed... skyes mind is most impressive too and Anne would make great stealth vandal. Few other guardians have show such... interest”.

The girl smiled and moved pat his head playfully “Well I think your cool too” she teased “for a big cat”.

Mithrax looked playfully offended “eliksni have been docked for less pup” he warned.

“What will you do?” Kyraas replied testingly.

The kell didn’t hesitate to grab the girl and pull her into his grip tightly and she found herself trapped in his arms and he started to tickle her making her laugh, she was not strong enough to break his grip if she tried. “Misraaks has other ways of punishing pup” he assured. 

“Ok ok, mercy, you win!” She finally breathed between laughs and she scrambled free as he let her go.

Mithrax settled comfortably again with an amused sigh “pup bold for challenging kell” he chuckled. 

“I don’t fear the kell... completely” she replied with a smile.

“Really should” he mused “being kells favourite pup doesn’t mean can escape wrath” he teased “no one above such things”.

Kyraas shifted to lay against him comfortably “well lucky I don’t plan on getting on your bad side” she sighed. Mithrax didn’t object and simply looked thoughtful, the rest of the trip was quiet.


	25. The Brightest of the Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The house of light has come far with the assistance of the guardians

It had been years since the initial truce between house light and the city has been made. The city provided assistance to the eliksni and in return, friendly eliksni offered assistance in the field with the added bonus of not killing guardians on sight. It wasn’t perfect however and some guardians didn’t agree with the truce, others killed by accident as old habits died hard, but most situations were not irreparable as the vanguard took punishment seriously enough that the eliksni were satisfied. 

The three responsible of the truce were considered the ones to talk too regarding any fallen matters as over the years, they learned and mastered the arts of understanding fallen, Skye in particular started learning how to speak some eliksni although she could not physically make some of the sounds needed for some things. The worlds of guardians however changed as often as night turned to day so it was comfortable. 

Anne’s child however had a strange birth and that put her squarely in the middle of being a city child and a child born among the eliksni. She was wild like the eliksni and in her time had picked up strange habits, she however was much like her mother, growing to dislike the tower because it felt so restricted after growing up in the wild freedom of the eliksni. That wasn’t the only reason however, she was strange and kids were brutal, she was bullied because of her oddities that came with having a guardian and eliksni family. 

She dreaded school as she hadn’t been able to make a connection with anyone and she had no friends, however, for her family, she put up a brave front. Kyraas found herself in front of her school facing elsie and she gave the titan a tight hug “I’ll see you after school” she smiled.

“Of course” elsie mused and ruffled her hair playfully “it’s just us tonight so we have whatever you feel like tonight” she promised “have fun”.

The girl nodded and let the titan go with a sigh before waving as she took off with a jog, leaving her alone to face the day. She immediatly looked annoyed as she took a deep breath and turned to walk into the school in a heavy silence, It felt like a death sentence. They stared and whispers started as soon as she entered the doors and she ignored them as she moved through the school to her classroom and she settled at the back of the class in wait. 

It was mere minutes before she was joined by her classmates and her usual opponents walked up to her desk laughing, the leader was a human boy who slammed his hands on her desk with a joking yell before laughing “did you understand that? It means worthless in fallen” he joked with a grin.

Kyraas didn’t acknowledge him, she was used to things like this and after a moment the kid looked annoyed “oi, im talking to you wild girl” he threatened.

Kyraas finally looked up with a bored sigh “I’m sorry, didn’t see you there, thought it was the wind” she muttered “what do you want?”.

“I was just going to say, nice babysitter, your mum pay for a titan to be your bodyguard?” He chuckled “it’s almost like you were scared of getting hurt”.

The girl bit her lip with annoyance reminding herself they weren’t worth it “oh look, there’s the teacher” she replied dryly.

The boy went to argue before an older women sternly took the classes attention and the group growled as they had to sit down.

Despite her attitude, Kyraas was top of the class, she had a ghost and a warlock to study with so school was almost trivial for her, it was behaving that was the problem and as her patience wore thin through out the day, the end of the day was always when she threatened to snap and lose her temper. Today however, she had woken to find out that this weekends trip to the house of light had been canceled as her family had been dragged into going to mars for a a strike, to say she had started off in a bad mood was an understatement, she hadn’t left the tower for a month because her family had been busy. 

Kyraas understood that because they were guardians, sometimes this happened but it didn’t suck any less as she got stuck in the tower with civilians who treated her like she was some wild thing despite her usually well natured personality. While she took after her mother in how moody she could be, she definitely favoured elsie and skyes type of general happiness when she was around people she knew. 

She didn’t have a very good understanding of a civilians life, however her unique background meant that she knew how to fight and mildly control her light among other stranger talents. She could climb almost anything if she had her climbing knives not to mention speak and understand quite a lot of the eliksni language. She had a high understanding of the eliksni race not to mention could fight effectively as a both a guardian and eliksni. School had tested her patience and she had struggled to resist destroying those who insisted on making her life hell. 

Class was incredibly boring and annoying as she was berated with dirty looks and giggles, however she didn’t blink an eye or answer a question wrong, school was effortless and she eagerly escaped the class once break time hit. She escaped quickly to the indoor garden that made up the replacement outdoors and headed as far away from the building as she could, settling against the wall with a moody sigh “hey gilder, can I have my cloak?” She muttered.

The golden shelled ghost appeared carefully “of course, but should you do that here?” She asked.

“If I don’t, I’m actually going to kill everyone at this school” she growled.

The ghost sighed and a bundle of cloth appeared in the girls hands as well as a sewing box beside her, Kyraas settled into starting to embroider the familiar mark of house light into the cloth. 

“You really wanted to go didn’t you” gilder sighed with guilt.

“Of course, I haven’t seen Mithrax for years” she complained “it’s boring as shit here and the people aren’t much smarter” she shot a glare to the slowly crowding garden.

Gilder looked thoughtfully to the children “well... ok, maybe your right about the children...”.

“An eliksni pup is smarter” Kyraas spat, focusing once more on her cloak.

“Well surely we can go see Mithrax next weekend maybe, I know your mum or elsie has to go back eventually. 

Kyraas rolled her eyes “if I didn’t have to go to school, I could just go during the week but of course not” she muttered before pricking her finger making her flinch and curse under her breath. 

“Ah, sorry...” gilder apologised.

“My fault” Kyraas muttered before sucking on her thumb moodily.

The ghost looked up before scowling “the peanut gallery is back” she muttered. 

Kyraas looked up to see the familiar sight of her favourite assholes and she took a deep breath “remind me why I can’t just destroy these asses”.

“Because your family will get in trouble and you really will be stuck in the tower cause you’ll be grounded” gilder replied with a sigh “stay strong” she muttered before retreating to the girls pocket.

As they approached, the leader once again took charge “oh look, this looks cool” he teased before tearing the cloak from her hands roughly with a laugh.

Kyraas glared at them “you better give that back” she threatened. 

The kid spread the cloak out to take a look at it, it was made of thick felt like fabric with painted marks on it, it was not the average hunters cloak and it was obvious “wait, this looks like shit, where’d you get this? The trash?” He joked before laughing.

Kyraas stood to face them “oh if only you knew... give it back”.

“No” the kid replied before wrapping the cloak up and throwing it to his friends, Kyraas attempted to catch it but missed as they kept it out of her hands and that was it, light started burning around her as she let out an animalistic growl.

“You want to know where I got it, I’ll show you” she threatened before thrusting her force into a heavy shove and the kid was thrown off guard, falling heavily. He went to get up but Kyraas didn’t let him and stood on his chest before dropping down to thrust a hand on his throat, clutching it threateningly “it was given to me by the kell of of the house of light” she growled “and normally, this would get you killed where you stand” she leaned down, squeezing tighter “you don’t want to make enemies of an eliksni trained fighter... they fight to the death”.

The kid gasped with fear “you won’t get away with this”.

Kyraas was thrown off by a heavy shove from his friends and she rolled back to her feet effortlessly before searching for her cloak, on seeing it in another of the kids hands, she darted forward into a sprint and threw her weight into a shoulder charge, winding them so she could retrieve her cloak and she lifted it above her head and put it on proudly before taking a defensive stance as the other kids surrounded her. She easily dodged the kids, elbowing one heavily before thrusting her knee into another’s stomach until she was facing the leader and she didn’t hesitate to bring her fist back to nail the kid on the shoulder and followed up with another to his chest and he collapsed, she simply kicked him over then and stood on him again. 

“You can’t hurt a civilian” he spat out quickly, fear heavy in his voice”.

“Your not nearly civil enough to be considered a civilian, your lower then a dreg” she replied darkly “touch me again and I’ll make you regret it” she then walked away towards the school. She felt the eyes follow her and she knew she’d done wrong but she didn’t care. As she heard a stern voice call out to her, she reacted in the heat of the moment, sprinting inside the school to grab her stuff before leaving “that’s it, I’m done” she growled as she escaped the school. 

"Wait, Kyra, think about this, your going to get in huge trouble, if we explain maybe-“. 

Gilder was cut off the girl “I don’t care, they can all jump off the tower” she muttered “I want to go to the eliksni”.

She suddenly heard more voices calling her and started sprinting through the tower to avoid being caught by the guardians who would surely drag her back to school. She managed to evade the guardians for twenty minutes until she made it back home and she let herself inside and went upstairs to her bedroom. 

“What’s your plan then?” Gilder asked with exasperation, appearing once more. 

“I don’t know but I’m leaving the tower” she assured and started packing with determination “in fact, I wonder if Mithrax would pick me up?” She looked to the ghost “call Mithrax for me”. 

Gilder shook her head “come on, your parents are going to lose their minds, you can’t do this”.

“I don’t care, tell them where I’m going or something but I’m not staying here” she glared. 

The ghost stared at her before sighing with defeat “ok, give me a minute” she muttered. The kells ghost answered quickly and gilder expanded to project the kells voice.

“Yes, misraaks speaking, who speaks...” he muttered with a growl.

"Hey Mithrax, is me Kyraas” she replied.

The kell instantly sounded more interested “ah, pup, long time no speak, what can do?” He asked with amusement.

“Well, uh, can you pick me up if I get out of the city?” Kyraas asked “I can explain, I swear... I just...” she sighed “I’m in trouble and I just need to get out of the city” she muttered.

Mithrax broke into a laugh “ah, pup like mother, what did pup do?”.

Kyraas sighed “I kinda beat up these kids, they were bullying me and i snapped... I kinda went a bit eliksni on them” she admitted awkwardly “uh, look, elsies going to be super mad at me and so is everyone else but please, please help me” she looked hopeful “I just want out of this god damn prison” she admitted “these kids are lower than dregs”.

Mithrax was quiet for a moment “sure, Misraaks meet pup if can escape city, give misraaks location when safe”.

“Your the best!” Kyraas enthused “ok, I’ll get out of here and then meet you” she promised. 

"Misraaks believes, will see pup soon” he mused “however, will have to tell family once safe, is only request”.

“Deal, I don’t care if I get in trouble as long as I’m not in the city, I can’t care if you punish me” she smiled.

“Misraaks will not, sounds like pup needed to put dregs in place” he admitted “that is eliksni way, however can not save from family, will request punishment takes place in house light” he promised.

“Yes! Thank you!” Kyraas replied gratefully “ok, I gotta pack, I’ll message you soon” she promised and gilder hung up. 

“Your really sure about this?” Gilder asked.

Kyraas nodded with determination and set to packing before armouring up and gilder reluctantly gave her her stealth cloak which created a scrambling field around her. Once she was ready, she slipped out of the house casually and headed trough the tower trying to look as casual as possible just in case people were looking for her still. She managed to get most of the way before she was spotted and she took off with a sprint to head down to the cargo hold of the tower and ducked into hiding as she was followed. After a tense half hour, she was able to slip into the elevator down to the city and she escaped into the maze like city that sprawled beneath the towers protecting the city.

The rest of the trip was pretty easy as no one recognised her in the city and after a few hours walk, she made it to the South Gate leading out of the city. This was where things were going to be interesting because the gate was guarded by numerous guardians. After thinking about it, she gave it her best attempt before being caught by a particularly observant titan and he dragged her into the guard house for questioning.

As the titan sat down across from her, he crossed his arms expectantly “right, who are you; your very young to be trying to leave the city” he muttered.

“I’m just small, I’m not that young” argued Kyraas with annoyance. 

“Who are you” the titan repeated “if your a guardian, you have to have a name”.

The girl looked unsure “uh, it’s.. alice” she replied as convincingly as she could.

“Alice huh?” He didn’t look like he believed her “so why aren’t you in a ship? Where are you going... alice....”

“I picked up a bounty to check out a sensor near the wall” she explained, bullshitting as she went

“Mhmm, what sensor...” he asked expectantly.

“Uh... the... north wall sensor unit...” she replied.

The titan gave her a long stare “mhmm... this is the south wall... just so you know...”.

The girl cringed “shit... look, just let me out, I swear I’m just going to practice my shooting near the wall” she promised weakly.

He sighed “no chance kid... I have no idea where you got any of that, but I’m going to send you home, there’s some guardians heading back shortly and you are going with them”. He stood before heading out and locking the door behind him.

Kyraas let out an annoyed growl “I’m such an idiot!”.

“Look, maybe we should just go back... Elsie’s already going to be pissed...” gilder muttered.

“Well I don’t have a choice now” Kyraas grumbled. 

It was a few minutes before the door opened and the titan returned with another one and the girl’s heart instantly sank as there was a moment of recognition between the two. “This kid needs returning home” the first titan explained.

The second seemed to give the girl a long stare before taking her helmet off revealing elsie “I can do that... hello kyra” she muttered with a tone of voice that spelled out the deep trouble she was in.

“Uh... hi... elsie...” kyra muttered weakly “you uh... you were on the south wall... today...”.

The first titan looked confused “do you know this kid?” He asked.

Elsie nodded “she’s my daughter... aren’t you”.

The girl nodded awkwardly “yeah...”.

“You can leave, I’ll deal with her” elsie promised before giving the child a stern look “explain”.

Kyraas pulled off her helmet looking defeated “I had a fight...” she muttered “I’m in trouble and I decided to go to the house of light...”.

Elsie looked unsure of what to think “what was your plan? To just leave?”.

“Well I was going to tell you... just.... when I got there... Mithrax was going to pick me up and then I was going to say something...” she looked awkward before tearing up “I hate the tower... everyone thinks im weird, I’m not a guardian and I’m not eliksni, but at least I fit in with the eliksni kind of, I just get bullied at school and I can’t do shit because I could get you guys into trouble” she crossed her arms looking upset “I don’t want to get you guys into trouble...”.

The titan was quiet and after a moment softened “how long has this been happening”.

“Since forever... when the kids found out how weird I was, they teased me and now they try to get me to fight, they took my cloak and I tried, I really tried to keep my cool but I couldn’t, they want me to get kicked out of school” she muttered.

Elsie took a deep breath “how bad was it?”.

“I beat up four kids... winded them... threatened them... almost choked the leader...” she bit her lip “I lost my temper and they wanted to know where I got my cloak so I kinda went a bit eliksni on them...” she sighed “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have but I just...” she trailed off with defeat.

“I’m going to have to punish you...” she sighed “I don’t think you were necessarily in the wrong completely... but to fight like that... I have no choice, you can’t be fighting like that with civilians” she looked at the girl with guilt.

“I know....” Kyraas muttered “and it’s not like I was running away from punishment... I just... I wanted to be punished at the house of light... I hate the tower, and I hate being stuck there”.

Elsie looked thoughtful before finally nodding “here’s the deal, I will take you to meet Mithrax but when I get there tommorow, you will be punished for both fighting and leaving the tower without telling anyone, that in itself is an incredibly dangerous idea, what if something had happened to you” she sighed “deal?”.

The girl looked surprised “yes, uh, deal, I thought you’d drag me back... that’s great” she nodded eagerly “I promise I’ll behave and I’ll promise I’ll accept my punishment without complaint”.

Elsie stood and motioned for her to follow “so be it then, come on you...”.

“Yes mame” kyraas replied with a salute, getting up quickly to follow.

Elsie led them outside and without a command needed, her ship soared over the wall and slowed as it landed in front of them despite how tight it was. Once inside, elsie looked to the girl “where you meeting him anywhere specific?”.

“No, he said to tell him when I could get out of the city and he would pick me up” she admitted “I couldn’t quite escape” she chuckled awkwardly “and the fact I ran into you... what were the chances right?”.

Elsie smiled “I live on the wall, it shouldn’t be that surprising, however the coincidence that I was at the gate you were trying to break through... a little more impressive” she nodded “in that case, I can’t go too far, so I know a place” she turned to start playing with the cockpit. 

“Why aren’t you more angry?” Kyraas asked carefully “I mean I appreciate it, believe me, I just... Well I kinda thought you’d wanna kill me where I stood... you know?”.

Elsie smiled “im angry” she nodded “however, you are your mothers daughter and at the end of the day, if you put your mind to leaving, you probably will, you mother did before you after all” she took a moment to take off “I know that if I force you to stay, you will just try harder to escape” she admitted “and if you manage that, traveller knows if I’ll be able to find you again, so if you want to leave, I will allow it, but purely because you were going to the house of light, you are safe there and I was heading there in a day or so anyway”.

“Mum left the tower? I mean, of course she does but usually for work...” kyraas replied curiously.

Elsie nodded “yes, in fact it was when she was pregnant with you, about half way through, she couldn’t stand the tower anymore and she just left without a word... the vanguard was pissed and I couldn’t find her for months, when I did? She’d found herself some friends in the house of light... it was terrifying” she admitted.

“Oh... I guess it really does run in the family then....” Kyraas muttered “I didn’t know...” she sighed “so is that when you met Mithrax?”.

“Yes, he was not nearly as big then, his house was quite young, and Anne stayed with him until you were born and a few months after that, we all were punished severely for not telling the vanguard what we knew, I spent a few weeks in confinement myself... I swear I went crazy... or crazier than I already am” she chuckled. They had been flying for a few minutes and she came in for a landing “ok, give Mithrax a call”.

The girl waited until the ship was quiet before gilder called the kell and he seemed to be expecting her “ah, was starting to think pup was caught” he mused “pup ready for pick up?”.

Kyraas looked awkward as elsie smiled and remained silent as she listened. “Well I made it out, you can come pick me up, I’m pretty far away from the walls now... but I’m not alone” she muttered “I was caught” she admitted.

“Ah, not quite as stealthy as mother” he chuckled “can still come to misraaks?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah, I’m going to be punished when elsie gets to house light, but I’m still allowed to go” she bit her lip.

“Who caught pup?” Mithrax asked with amusement.

“Well I was trying to get through the South Gate and this titan... he didn’t believe me and was going to send me back to the city with someone who was heading back... and uh, that happened to be elsie” she cleared her throat awkwardly “so... elsie caught me” she muttered.

Mithrax laughed at this “unfortunate, but impressed, almost made it out, is captain with you?”.

“Yes she is” Kyraas sighed.

“Will look for captains ship then” he replied with amusement “well misraaks glad pup is safe, will meet as promised.” He asssured.

“Thank you for offering to help her Mithrax, I appreciate it” elsie added.

“There is captain, misraaks doesn’t mind, prefer to know where pup is going, is safe with house light” he replied “better for family and pup, Will pup be punished?”.

“Yes, however, I will punish her when I get to the house of light, I know better than to try and keep her somewhere she doesn’t want to be” she sighed. 

“Hunters like eliksni, strong wills, doesn’t like being tied down” he chuckled “will see friends soon” he mused.

As gilder closed, she looked a bit guilty to elsie “uh, I’m sorry, I couldn’t change her mind...”.

Elsie shook her head “I wouldn’t expect you to be able too” she assured “your good”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful “so when you first met Mithrax... what happened?”.

Elsie smiled “he killed me” she chuckled “not my brightest moment, I tried to take on a house of fallen, Anne saved my stupid ass, but after that, did a few favours here and there and became a captain” she shrugged “I worked for everything I have now” she nodded “I appreciate that way about fallen” she admitted “working for everything, it’s basic but reliable”.

“How did mum meet him then?” Kyraas continued.

“Well she was camping and they must of seen her, tracked her down just to see what she was up too and she naturally tried to defend herself” she looked thoughtful “she lost but lost with grace, she did her best to protect you... but she was about seven months along at the time and she just didn’t have it in her anymore, Mithrax took pity on her since she gave in, dropped her weapons and everything” she nodded “so Mithrax took her to his house and that’s history”.

“How big was he?” She looked curious.

“Oh, back then, he was bigger than a captain, but uh, maybe a head or two taller, he wasn’t the monster he is now” she smiled “after six months away, that’s when we noticed how big he’d become” she chuckled “he hasn’t gotten much bigger over the years since then”. Elsie looked thoughtful “he took an unexpected liking to you, whether he thought you an interesting pet or something, he has always liked you and he trained you pretty well, turned you into a little eliksni whether we wanted it or not”.

“Why couldn’t you stop him?” Kyraas asked.

“Because you adored him” elsie mused “i never thought I’d see a grown kell play pretend until you got to him” she sighed “it unfortunate that your particular... family history is causing you so much trouble” she admitted before motioning her over “come here”.

Kyraas bit her lip before walking over “I mean.. it’s not really your fault, I would probably have been bullied even if I didn’t grow up around eliksni” she admitted. 

Elsie pulled her into a tight hug “that doesn’t make it ok, i just wish I could help” she sighed.

The girl returned the hug with a sigh “i wouldn’t change anything if I had the choice” she assured “I have the best family ever” she smiled “I mean look at you, your higher ranked than the vanguard if you go to the right place, not to mention, your not grounding me yet... I’m getting off super easy” she smiled playfully.

“Hey, don’t test me” elsie threatened playfully before pressing a kiss on her head “I just dont want to lose you to something silly” she sighed.

“You know, sometimes I think your more my mum then mum is” she teased before grinning “oh, but then there’s the fact I’m almost more eliksni then civilian too, I mean, you should have seen my fight today” she backed up “and I know I shouldnt be proud but you should of seen their faces, I knocked them all on their ass and the guy I threatened to strangle... haha, add a growl and they were as white as a sheet”.

Elsie laughed “you are a little monster, you know that right? Mithrax taught you well”.

“I mean I used what you taught me, like a knee or punch right the stomach like you said dropped them immediately” she smiled “they were just giving me shit because I was embroidering my eliksni cloak, so I showed them where I got it” she grinned.

“Civilians haven’t seen a fight in their life, even the toughest of them fall like a sack of spuds if hit in the right place” elsie chuckled before getting up and opening up the hatch “you’ve got everything packed I assume?”.

“Right here” kyraas replied, holding up a large duffle bag.

Elsie took it before lifting herself out of the ship and the girl followed “Well, we have a bit of time, you wanna kill it with some friendly banter?” She asked as she dropped down to the ground and left the bag under her ship.

“Like fight?” Kyraas asked.

“Yeah, I haven’t trained you in a while, let me see what you can do” she mused “I’ll even take my armour off for you” she teased “give you a chance to hit me”.

“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Kyraas challenged and jumped down “let’s do it” she grinned and put her helmet on “I’ll make you regret the offer” she promised.

Elsie laughed and as she moved away to stand defensively, her armour disappeared around her leaving her just in leathers and a mark “I can’t wait” she replied “bring it on pup”.

“Only Mithrax gets to call me pup” Kyraas argued “and I’m not even a pup anymore”. The girl threw herself into the fight eagerly, she had been trained by a number of people but her best strength was her speed. Once she was going; even elsie sometimes had trouble hitting her, however elsies defence was flawless despite her speed and while she may not have had the time to get many hits in, she was usually the one left standing regardless because she could fight almost as long as it took to get even the fastest opponent down. She could outlast the best and enjoy it thoroughly. Elsie even let her practice her knife skills after a little bit.

They lost track of time in the fun of the moment and they didn’t notice the skiff in the distance until it had approached. By then, the movement distracted elsie long enough that Kyraas could thrust her knife into the Titans throat and elsie staggered “touché” she coughed.

“Uh... sorry” Kyraas muttered “I got carried away”.

Elsie laughed weakly and waved her off “my fault, however give me a second” she replied before crouching and after a moment, she collapsed lifelessly. 

Kyraas looked guilty and cleaned her knife before putting it away and looked to the skiff that hung not far from them. A large kell surfaced from the ship and dropped down to the ground with an ominous thud and walked towards them. 

Kyraas gave him an awkward wave “uh, hi Mithrax... thanks, you helped me win”.

The kell looked amused “anytime, disagreement with captain?” 

“Uh, no... just fun but I got carried away” she replied.

The titan faded into light before reappearing with a gasp and cough, she gave Mithrax a nod “good timing” she mused.

“Lost to pup, disappointed” Mithrax teased.

“Hey, I cant help that I instinctually watch the whole field as I fight” she smiled “you entered my battlefield” she walked over and offered her hand “how are you anyway?”.

“Good” Mithrax nodded and shook her hand “was not expecting pup and captain to be fighting” he admitted “wondered if Mithrax should interrupt potential discipline”.

Elsie smiled “I’d never discipline my child in that way, I assure you. no, we just had time so I thought I’d see how her training was going, that’s all” she shrugged “its going well evidently”.

Kyraas gave elsie a tight hug “thank you, it was fun, even though you didn’t even try” she mused.

“Hey, I kinda tried, your more delicate than me” she replied playfully “now, before you go running away, remember, when I get there and decide on your punishment, I don’t want to hear a whisper of a complaint or I will drag you back to the tower by your cloak and you will be grounded until I say so” she threatened “got it?”.

Kyraas nodded and swallowed hard “yes mame” she replied, just the thought was terrifying because she knew elsie wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly what she said, she’d done it before.

“Good” elsie smiled “keep that in mind and we can both get along” she assured as she stepped back and her armour reappeared around her. She then turned to Mithrax “until I get there, as long as she does as she is told, she is good” she nodded.

Mithrax chuckled “will keep pup in check” he mused as he crouched “when can misraaks expect captain?”.

“In the next day or two, depends on if the vanguard keeps me busy or not” she sighed.

“Skye is quite eager to see captain” he informed “wanted to give this”. He reached up to pull a package out from under his cloak, in his hands, it was small but as he put it in the Titans hands, she almost needed two hands to hold it.

Elsie opened it with confusion before pulling out a belt wrapped up in cloth and she smiled, unwrapping a new mark made of thick wool like fabric and painted with the house of light symbol, she had one like this but Skye had clearly made this one herself as it had little details like subtle metallic lines that looked like arc tracing along the fabric, there were small almost flower like explosions with hammers in the centre and smooth shields, each detail so subtle that you could almost miss it under the heavy painted mark of the house, she picked up a card before blushing “of course...” she muttered “thank you Mithrax” she looked appreciative.

“No problem, saw Skye working on for while, did easy part” he nodded.

Elsie smiled and replaced her current mark with the new one “well... I’ve been outdone” she sighed “I’ve got no idea what I’m going to get her now” she admitted “but anyway, I gotta go” she looked to Kyraas “give her a big hug for me ok?”.

“Will do” the girl nodded before going to pick up her bag and she looked up to Mithrax “I’m ready when you are” she smiled.

“Good, misraaks take bag, wonder if pup is still well trained, hide” he ordered with amusement.

The girl looked unsure “aren’t I too big for that?”.

“No, can carry captain, pup is easy” he chuckled. With that, the girl gave elsie a nod before scaling the kell and she ducked under his heavy blanket like cloak, she held on with the help of a handle that gilder had put there when she was little. Even as old as she was, it was hard to tell she was there when the kell stood “will see friends soon perhaps” he nodded before heading back to his skiff. He effortlessly reached up to grab and lift himself into the craft before allowing Kyraas to be free. 

He crawled through the craft because of his size but despite this, he made it look easy, almost insect like as he sqeezed through some tight spaces and Kyraas followed him as the skiff took off, heading back to the house of light. The kell curled up in the command room with a sigh and turned his attention to the girl as she sat beside him “so, pup got away with misbehaving for now?” He mused.

“Ah, yeah, I mean, I’m screwed when elsie catches up with me, but for now, I suppose I got away with it” she bit her lip “I don’t think she is angry with me for fighting... but mostly for leaving the tower and walking through the city by myself” she admitted.

“Have been told is big place, big places can be dangerous” he admitted “many people that may not be trustworthy” he brought a hand to the girls helmet “pup is capable” he mused.

“Why do you still call me pup?” She asked was a smile “you know I’m not a kid anymore right?”.

Mithrax chuckled “habit I suppose, but easier, still young so still pup in misraaks eyes”.

The girl sighed “your not going to baby me forever right?”.

“Baby pup? Not sure what means” she admitted.

“It means treat me like a kid... or a pup” Kyraas explained.

“Oh, no” he shook his head “stopped... baby pup long time ago, expects pup to work earn her place like everyone else” he assured “pup is however an amusing pet” he chuckled, poking her playfully “enjoys seeing humans change since guardians don’t”.

The girl blushed “am I an experiment?” She asked with shock.

“Hmm... is a word for it” he nodded “was curious to see what would happen, Human pup dangerous... has certain charm, hard not to grow to like, even enjoy” he chuckled “started as pet, is more pup now but still equally as interesting as pet”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful “so you do like me?”.

“Of course” mithrax assured “also enjoys family... captain is most impressive, a guardian who is equally as fierce as any eliksni and has will to be true eliksni is needed... skyes mind is most impressive too and Anne would make great stealth vandal. Few other guardians have show such... interest”.

The girl smiled and moved pat his head playfully “Well I think your cool too” she teased “for a big cat”.

Mithrax looked playfully offended “eliksni have been docked for less pup” he warned.

“What will you do?” Kyraas replied testingly.

The kell didn’t hesitate to grab the girl and pull her into his grip tightly and she found herself trapped in his arms and he started to tickle her making her laugh, she was not strong enough to break his grip if she tried. “Misraaks has other ways of punishing pup” he assured. 

“Ok ok, mercy, you win!” She finally breathed between laughs and she scrambled free as he let her go.

Mithrax settled comfortably again with an amused sigh “pup bold for challenging kell” he chuckled. 

“I don’t fear the kell... completely” she replied with a smile.

“Really should” he mused “being kells favourite pup doesn’t mean can escape wrath” he teased “no one above such things”.

Kyraas shifted to lay against him comfortably “well lucky I don’t plan on getting on your bad side” she sighed. Mithrax didn’t object and simply looked thoughtful, the rest of the trip was quiet.


	26. Chores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even pets need to prove their worth.

Now that the guardians were done, belys led the way back through the factory into the fallen area and Kyraas was greeted by the odd vandal and dreg who had grown up with her. She looked a little nervous since this was where she would have to speak to the eliksni and she hadn’t quite mastered eliksni speak yet.

“So where are we going?” Kyraas asked.

Belys looked thoughtful “go metal shell, where vandal create things” he replied.

“Right, Skye said something about that” Kyraas remembered mildly “so is that where the eliksni build all of your machinery and stuff?”.

“Mostly” he nodded “always things to do there”. It took a few minutes to find their way to the area but once there, they found themselves in a large hangar or construction line. A huge metal shell full of rust was the main thing in the room surrounded by endless piles of scrap with various eliksni spotted around the room all working on their own projects. Belys led Kyraas to the base of the shell before beginning to climb up a well used part of the shell and Kyraas followed, entering through an angled doorway. The inside was cramped and they ducked through a company walkway before it opened up to the belly of the shell and it had stripped and it was full of various working vandals that worked on everything from shanks to weapons.

Kyraas looked unsure “who should I talk too?”.

Belys looked around before pointing further into the shell “arkess, wears scrap” he explained as he dodged the working eliksni.

They didn’t need to walk for before a loud cry echoed through the metal hull and a particularly large vandal shoved another looking angry before going off in an animalistic rant before walking further into the ship angrily. The victim of its range didn’t bother following looking equally as grumpy but it was clear the bigger vandal was the one they wanted.

Kyraas looked unsure “should we come back later?” She asked quietly.

“No, it’s fine” Belys assured as they dodged past the victim to follow “your turn speak” he continued and as they approached a cloth covered doorway, the vandal motioned Kyraas forward.

The girl took a deep breath before walking in carefully and they found themselves in a den of mechanics and scrap, the large vandal now sat in the centre of the room with a shank on the floor and with care, he was prodding the insides of the machine, making it spark. He looked up moodily and let out an annoyed growl “guardian.... what?” He demanded with a grumble.

Kyraas looked unsure and took a second to get her words right before walking over to crouch respectfully, matching his height “uh, Kyraas” she explained nervously motioning to herself “kell speak, Kyraas help eliksni...”.

Her eliksni was rough but the vandal seemed to understand “Ah, misraaks pup... name travels far” he chuckled, moving into more comfortable eliksni language “misraaks send pup here?” He clarified with amusement, pausing his work with interest.

Kyraas nodded and took a moment to reply “yes, earn keep” she explained “must prove...” she looked a little lost for a moment “guide?” She continued looking unsure.

“Misraaks wants proof pup helped?” The vandal clarified, correcting her “sure, will not argue with kell” he looked thoughtful “what can pup do?”.

The girl looked unsure before shrugging with defeat “don’t know how help eliksni” she admitted “will try best” she promised.

The vandal seemed to judge her for a moment before standing “call arkess, arkess give pup parts, take to archon” he started separating various pieces of metal parts from his various piles and after a few minutes crouched and motioned to the pile “take this” he ordered.

Kyraas nodded and pulled out her ghost who happily picked up the parts for her and she gave a salute “should return?”.

The vandal looked a little surprised “have gift from great machine?”.

“Yes” kyraas replied a little unsure.

The vandal then chuckled “in that case, will give you many orders” he mused “wait” he continued before separating more work and he explained were he wanted each set of stuff delivered to before finally letting them go “ask last one you visit for mark of house” he explained “now leave” he muttered, waving them away with mild annoyance.

They didn’t hesitate and quickly escaped and Kyraas let out a deep breath “ha, well, now to find out where this stuff goes” she muttered.

Belys helped lead the way and they were basically just going from place to place and dropping off stuff, it was simple but they decided to do the archon last and as they approached their last task, Belys led them too a door that was guarded by two captains and as they approached they growled and moved to stop them both and one looked to Belys “what do you want” he demanded before looking to the girl “what is pup doing here?”.

Kyraas Bowed politely “sent by kell” she explained weakly “help eliksni, have... things for archon”.

The captain looked a little surprised that the girl was the first to speak “what things?” He replied suspiously.

Kyraas looked unsure before holding out her hands and a part appeared in her hands “vandal arkess give, to archon” she replied.

The captain seemed indecisive and looked between the two before nodding “fine... follow” he growled before entering the room and they followed nervously. This was the one room that few guardians was usually allowed in, not even elsie had been in here more than a few times. Skye was the most familiar with the room but that was because she’d offered to take a look at some tech in there. The room was large but not like the massive rooms spotted all over the factory, it was mostly stripped but instead of being empty, they felt the gaze of eyes follow their movements.

The room was quite hazy and the eyes belonged to a number of floating round metal machines that let out mechanical hums and growls in reaction to the new visitors. There was a large captain that sat on the ground in front of a resting servitor and he looked up to the visitors that seemed to interrupt his own tinkering and he let out a low growl. He wasn’t quite the size of Mithrax however he wasn’t that much smaller either “what?” He demanded.

“Misraaks pup brings parts” the captain explained before looking to the girl and motioning her forward “go pup, do not waste time... unsafe for pup”.

The girl looked nervous but nodded and approached and the parts appeared on the floor in front of the archon “I need mark of house, for kell” she explained nervously.

The archon picked up the parts and looked them over carefully before nodding woth a growl “kell asked for proof?”.

“Yes” she replied.

The archon looked thoughtful “so be it... come here?” He ordered before producing a container, the girl did as she was told and while she was ok with being around Mithrax who was bigger, she had never been around another eliksni of this size and it was terrifying. The archon picked her up carefully before using a hand to paint the mark of the house on her chest piece before putting her down “is pup going to kell?” He asked.

“Yes” she nodded.

“Then do favour for archon” he looked around before producing a large metal tube like device and he set it on the ground, it was big enough that the girl had no hope of carrying it “have your ghost carry, this is for the kell” he nodded “give it to him” he ordered. Gilder appeared to do what they were told.

“Thank you” kyraas replied carefully.

The archon nodded and waved them off, returning his attention to the the servitor with care and the captain led them out and the two quickly escaped and headed back to the throne room.

Belys looked excited “we did it” he chuckled “and saw archon, rare sight” he assured “lowly vandals rare see archon, guardians never”.

“That was terrifying” Kyraas sighed “I’ll pass on seeing him again” she muttered weakly.

It was only a few minutes before they reached the throne room once more and the kell was no where to be seen so they checked the roof, however he wasn’t there either. With gilders help, they found their way to the kells quarters which neither of the two had ever been. The room wasn’t too far away from the throne room and it was a pretty normal room considering, Belys looked deeply afraid once he realised the kell was indeed there however.

The door was surprisingly unguarded but it seemed like the just the kells presence was enough to scare most away normally as he was curled up on a large pile of rags in the corner of the room, sleeping peacefully. He looked as catlike as ever and in the other corner of the room laid his over sized weapons. His ghost appeared as they stood uncertainly in the door and he floated over “Ah, your back” he mused “I trust you figured everything out alright?”.

Kyraas nodded “yeah, I uh, I have a delivery for Mithrax” she muttered “from the archon, he told me to bring him something after we finished our eliksni chores”.

“Kells ether supply” Belys explained nervously.

“Oh, he will want that” the ghost nodded “misraaks was going to pick that up when he got up” he chuckled “well, you can wake him up if you like”.

Belys stood back looking fearful “wake kell?” He muttered quietly “what about anger? Mere vandal... pup...”.

“Will he be mad?” Kyraas asked carefully “how long has he been sleeping?”.

The ghost looked amused “hours now, I was probably going to wake him soon anyway, and no, he won’t get angry unless your asking him stupid questions, although your pretty safe” he mused to kyraas “up to you”.

Kyraas looked unsure before sighing “ok, o didn’t really want to be carrying his ether supply around so I guess I’ll wake him” she muttered before walking over carefully and she crouched down to carefully grab the kells hand, holding a finger in each hand since he was so large “hey, Mithrax?”.

The kell stirred with a heavy sigh and growled “...pup...” he muttered sluggishly, barely awake.

“Yeah, it’s me” she replied “I have something for you... I’m Sorry for waking you”.

The kell seemed to think about it lazily before he reached out to pull her into a hug and he pet her head “sleep pup...” he muttered and it became clear he must have not been awake. The girl was however now stuck and she sighed.

The girl looked torn before trying to get free “Mithrax... please... I’m not little anymore” she muttered.

This seemed to stir the kell and he gave a moody growl letting her go and after a moment, he turned to look at her properly “ah, pup returns...” he muttered “apologies... old thoughts...” he yawned “pup and friend completed task?”.

Kyraas freed herself and sat down in front of him “yeah, I got my mark” she then looked to Belys and waved him in.

The vandal looked incredibly nervous but crawled in to sit beside her and pulled out the hunters coin “return with mark of hunter” he added quietly.

The kell reached out to take the coin before eyeing the painted mark “well done...” he looked to his ghost “tyksis, report”. The ghost floated over and started speaking perfect elinski, and while Kyraas missed a few things, it was clear that tyksis had followed them all day and he was reporting on everything they had done and how well they had done it. The kell seemed to ask a few things before looking to the two “well done indeed... Kyraas has sufficiently returned favour to misraaks” he nodded before looking to Belys “and you make promising captain...”.

Belys bowed low “glad kell is pleased” he replied.

“Why did you make us do this?” Kyraas asked.

The kell chuckled and reached out to pat the girls head “did pup think she would not have to pay for picking up from city?” He asked “one favour asks for another”. He then looked to Belys “young vandal however... wanted to see Belys show worth... must be able to work with guardians and eliksni alike as well as be fearsome in battle. Is new time for house light”.

Kyraas nodded thoughtfully “your right... well I have something for you” she sighed before the metal container transmatted beside her “the archon said to give this to you”.

The kell eyed the container and looked pleased “good, thank you pup”.

Belys stood a little nervously “Belys leave, but glad could please kell” he gave a respectful nod and the kell returned it so the vandal could escape the room after saying goodbye to Kyraas.

Kyraas swatches him go before looking thoughtful “why don’t you have guards?” Kyraas asked “surely, the eliksni aren’t all just that scared of you right?”.

“Fear is effective deterrent” Mithrax mused “misraaks does not need guards, there are few bold enough to wake kell outside emergency situation... pup is one of few who can get away with it” he admitted.

Kyraas looked unsure “oh... I didn’t know...” she admitted.

Mithrax sighed with another yawn “well misraaks finished with pup... can go do as like now” he nodded “once captain comes, she will punish, but no more punishment from misraaks, for now, misraaks sleep...”.

Tyksis looked unsure “should I put off your duties?”.

“Yes” he nodded lazily “will see too when wakes”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful before moving to give the kell a hug “thanks for saving me today”.

The kell chuckled and hugged her back “no problem... pup has dangerous charm” he mused “what will do now?”.

The girl looked outside as the light was begging to fade and she realised that after he day, she was tired “probably have a nap to be honest...” she sighed.

“Ah, pup still needs naps?” He teased “can stay with Mithrax if like” he mused “will protect like old times”.

Kyraas smiled and took off her helmet “you know what, sure, I’ve missed you” she admitted before crawling to cuddle up beside the kell, even though she was older, she still felt small as he wrapped his arms around her and covered her warmly with his cloak as he did when she was a child and he curled around her protectively.

“Missed pup too” he admitted “boring without” he yawned, settling into sleep. It wasn’t long before the safety of his presence had put the girl to sleep as well.

When elsie finially turned up, like promised, she did punish the girl and Kyraas was forced to write a Note of apology before going through an intense workout that left her exhausted for days with the promise that it would be worse next time she tried something like that.


	27. A Wilder Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyraas chose to stay with the eliksni as a stand in for elsie when she wasnt there, but her family is earned royalty, still proving themselves years later.

It had been many years since the first attack on the house and with the addition of the guardians, many more had been prevented. The strength of the truce between the guardians and the house of light only got stronger and in particular, Kyraas felt ever more comfortable among the eliksni rather than the tower. When she finished school, she decided that’s she’d rather stay there in fact.

The girl became an active part of the guard that acted as a bridge between guardians and eliksni while her parents were not around and so the now 18 year old now sat beside the kell as he oversaw the houses affairs. She understood most things now, language changed a lot but she kept up mostly so she listened with interest as fallen spoke about the houses resources and lack of certain resources. She listened as the various powers spoke about the changing guards as captains were replaced and added to the ranks, vandals became dregs and dregs were promoted to vandals. 

It was all pretty normal stuff and once it was finished, the kell looked bored as he was left with her. The girl had always gotten special treatment from the kell, however she had slowly earned her place like everyone else over the years. Mithrax finally moved his gaze to girl and looked at her thoughtfully before standing and offering a hand to her “hide”.

The girl looked surprised but instantly got up to her feet and took his hand and used it to help climb up onto his back “where are we going?” She asked looking unsure.

The kell once Kyraas was settled, left thoughtfully “somewhere more entertaining” he replied as he headed downstairs. Kyraas peeked out to see where he was heading and he moved toward the outside of the building and stopped to look over the rather large guardian settlement that now rested on the outskirts of the building. He caught a lot of eyes as the guardians looked up at him with awe. There was always new guardians who’d never seen a kell themselves before, let alone a fallen captain so large. 

He seemed thoughtful before carefully walking into the guardians camp, being careful to not damage anything. While it was unusual to see the kell do this, it happened occasionally when he wanted to see the guardians himself, or alternatively he was looking for a particular guardian, usually either Elsie or Skye. Today he headed to the command tent and got to all fours before settling onto his stomach to look inside the human sized tent, Kyraas climbed out from under his cloak with confusion “what are you doing?”.

The guardians inside the tent looked equally as concerned and a familiar titan walked out to greet him “hey Mithrax, what’s up” elsie asked carefully.

The kell gave a nod “was looking for captain” he replied “wish to ask question” he admitted.

The titan looked amused “sure, ask away”.

The kell looked thoughtful “would captain come with misraaks?”.

The titan looked confused “uh, yeah? Where too”.

“Trip could take days” he admitted “misraaks want to explore, considering moving house light” he looked to the titan “as leader of guardians, wish to have guardians insight”.

The titan looked a little surprised “well sure, I can be ready to go in an hour, but why the sudden decision?”.

“Building crumbling” Mithrax explained before standing “have pup ready as well, come see misraaks when ready” he ordered before turning and walking the way he cane leaving a whole bunch of confused guardians in the area.

Elsie turned to look at Kyraas “uh, did he tell you anything?”.

“Nope” kyraas replied cluelessly “well... I’ll pack if you like... you do the formal stuff I guess” she muttered. Elsie gave a nod and they split up to prepare with the kells sudden request. 

It was about an hour like elsie said before both she and Kyraas returned to the throne room to find Mithrax and he had gathered a small group of fallen lead by a captain. It was mostly stealth vandals and as the two arrived, Mithrax stood “good, let’s go” he ordered before letting out a barking order and his crew moved out as the kell followed and looked to the guardians “come, explain on way”.

Once they had settled into the ship, Mithrax and his huge size was curled up in the control room. Elsie had dressed in her fallen get up to match while Kyraas looked like a stealth vandal. Close enough to a hunter but not quite, looking more fallen than guardian. After they had taken off, elsie crouched down in front of the kell curiously.

“So, what’s going on?” She asked.

Mithrax sighed “building old... lost few eliksni when floor collapsed, knew would not last forever, but inconvenient to move house without ketch” he muttered.

Elsie look concerned “ah, well that building... I’m a little surprised it’s still standing” she admitted. “So we are looking for an area to reloacate to?” She clarified “do you wish to leave without the guardians?”.

Mithrax looked thoughtful “would not be against guardians following as long as respect eliksni as usual”.

The titan looked thoughtful “so what kinda of place are we looking for?” She asked.

“Large enough for house... permanent without guests...” he sighed.

Elsie looked thoughtful “well... what about a ketch? You mentioned one before maybe? I might know of one” she admitted.

“Ketch?” Mithrax looked unsure “why would guardians know of ketch?”.

Elsie looked uncomfortable “because we took it from the house of winter... not sure what state it’s in, but I’m sure we could check it out right? I can at least ask if we are still watching it right?”.

Mithrax nodded knowingly “heard rumours of house winter defeat... long time gone... houses became dusk” he muttered “eliksni could repair” he nodded “where?”.

Sparks appeared thoughtfully “according to this... the area is lightly observed, but it’s at Venus, and I don’t think guardians have been in the area since the taken infestation... who knows what’s there now after so many years” she muttered “but I’m picking up readings of activity in the area”.

The kell seemed to think about it before nodding “lead way sparks”. He then looked to the vandal flying and barked an order, the vandal looked a little surprised then uncomfortable but moved aside and allowed the ghost to put in the last known co-ordinates of the ketch. 

“So we are going to Venus?” Kyraas asked.

“I guess so” elsie nodded and shifted to sit down “skiffs can fly in space?” She asked curiously “how do they do that with the back all open like it is?”.

Mithrax chuckled “simple, will show” he got up carefully to shift and he crawled out of the command room, the guardians followed him curiously and he led them to the back where he settled “watch” he mused, curling up in front of the entrance to the open over handing drop points, He motioned to the two to sit beside him.

The two sat as ordered the kell wrapped an arm around each of them as the ship suddenly lurched and started flying upwards, tilting the ship so much so that the two guardians got nervous as they felt themselves sliding slightly. The kells grip however was strong and they remained safe as the land appeared underneath them, growing smaller as the ship rumbled loudly. Light barriers started bleeding from the walls to cut off any connection to the outside and it felt fragile, putting a deep fear into the two who were used to a fully enclosed cabin when moving into space flight. 

As the earth became ever more distant, the rumbling made way for a more gentle hum after the distressing sound of the engine struggling for a moment as they switched to a more effective mode of space traversal. They started to float indicating they were now in space and the kell let the guardians go looking amused “sense fear... not afraid of fight but space flight scares?” He asked.

Elsie chuckled and shifted to stand slowly “I don’t fear space flight... but space flight in a skiff... mildly more terryfying” she replied “this is the closest I’ve ever been to space without a guardian transport ship” she admitted.

Kyraas looked awed “what is this?” She asked with confusion as she floated up with a laugh.

Elsie looked unsure “have we never let you experience zero gravity?”.

“What’s zero gravity?” She repeated with confusion.

Elsie laughed “well that’s a big lesson we missed... you know what gravity is right?”.

The girl looked thoughtful “I feel like skye has mentioned it... but I can’t think of it” she admitted “and normally we can walk and stuff in everyone else’s ships so...”.

“Well gravity is this invisible force, it kinda pulls you to the ground, its the thing that allows you to walk, but in space, gravity doesn’t exist, it’s too complicated to explain properly but without gravity” she motioned to herself “you float”.

“Whaat? That’s wild” Kyraas giggled before gently kicking up to float to the ceiling “why haven’t you ever showed me this before?! This is awesome!” She looked around before carefully moving into the hangar to look out to space. It felt like she could almost walk through it and fall into the endless blackness of space. 

“I forget that you need to teach children things sometimes” elsie admitted “I haven’t had to teach you anything like that for a long time” she carefully floated over to join the girl and sighed “Skye would enjoy this”.

“Skye was born out here right?” Kyraas asked. 

“Yeah... over near Saturn” elsie nodded “I couldn’t imagine being born into nothingness like this... it would freak me out” she smiled. 

Kyraas looked thoughtful before grabbing the Titans cloak playfully before grabbing the wall and she pulled and pushed the titan away “look, I’m strong enough to throw you out here” she laughed.

Elsie caught the ceiling with a laugh to stop her drift “so you are”

The kell watched with amusement as his own cloak despite its weight started to float around him “guardians are like pups” he admitted with amusement before getting up to start pulling himself over to catch the two “come, could hurt yourselves” he chuckled, holding the two to his chest as he held on securely to a wall covered in netting. It was good timing as the ship started humming louder before the lights started to blur slowly, becoming streaks of light as they moved into a warp. 

The guardians watched on with awe as the ship seemed almost instead for a second before Mithrax let them go “now safe, occasionally warp hurts eliksni”.

Elsie gave him an appreciative pat “thanks, i feel like I’m being babysat” she mused “is there gravity on a skiff outside of an atmosphere?”.

“Yes, but not all of ship” Mithrax nodded “preserves power” he explained “misraaks going to quarters... may join if like, will be few hours flight” he admitted before shifting to start moving back into the ship nimbly. He was big enough that he could reach and pull himself along effortlessly as if he were crawling. Elsie and Kyraas grabbed onto the back of his cloak so he could pull them along as well and as he reached his quarters, his door was blocked by a blue force field that he pulled himself through, moving effortlessly into a crawl as he moved into the gravity enabled area. 

The guardians weren’t as smooth, tripping as they re-entered gravity but they laughed it off as the kell curled up comfortably on his ever growing pile of cloth that made up a bed. “So what now?” Kyraas asked.

“Misraaks likes to sleep on long trips, save effort for destination” he sighed “may do same if wish” he offered, patting the space beside him. 

Kyraas looked thoughtful “sure” she shrugged and walked over, getting to her knees beside him to settle beside him “come on elsie” she waved her over “you don’t look too well”. 

Elsie had tried to play it cool, but the changes between gravity had left her feeling quite crook and she looked pale, blushing a little on being noticed “you noticed huh”.

“Yup” Kyraas mused “you look like mum flew too fast”.

Elsies chuckled “you don’t miss anything do you” she mused before sighing “sure, why not” she muttered “Venus isn’t going to wait until I’m feeling better”. She shifted to settle beside the girl with a heavy sigh. 

Mithrax seemed to look them over thoughtfully before pulling his heavy cloak over them and resting his arms on them protectively before settling into sleep after a few peaceful minutes. Elsie felt a little awkward for a few minutes unlike Kyraas who was immediatly perfectly comfortable with cuddling against the giant kell, she’d been doing it nearly all her life, however sleep eventually claimed them both. the kells presence and the warmth of his cloak was surprisingly comforting. 

They were eventually stirred by the movement of the kell who was woken by his ghost, the nap went a long way to help elsie feel better and seemed to refresh the three. On returning to command, gravity had returned to the ship so they had obviously made it Venus.

Sparks greeted the titan with a cheeky look, appearing beside her playfully “cuddling with the kell... didn’t know you liked him that way” she teased quietly.

Elsie blushed slightly rolling her eyes “please...” she muttered “how was the flight?” She smiled.

“Easy, I took the time to study how skiffs work actually... its different to a guardians skiff that’s been replaced with guardian tech, quite facinating, we will need to take some time to let the skiff power up” she explained.

Elsie nodded “so could you fly one now?”.

“Oh absolutely, with minimal help, it took some study to figure out, but I could absolutely do it” she looked proud. 

Elsie chuckled “very clever of you” she mused “so where are we?”.

“Approaching the ketch as we speak” sparks replied matter of factly. Elsie walked over to the pilots seat curiously and in the distance, the ketch seemed small in the window. It still floated where it had been left and it used to be quite a popular area for guardians.

“So what’s the plan?” Elsie asked.

“Well tyksis and I were talking, which is facinating by the way, did you know he is now as powerful as the kell himself?” She chuckled “I could only hope to be that respected one day” she sighed before continuing “we are going to land at the top of the cliff and walk down. If there’s fallen there, we will see who they belong too and you never know, maybe we will recruit them to our cause. If it’s anything else, or they are hostile, we will kill it all and probably take part in a hostile take over, easy for us with you here”.

Elsie nodded “hopefully there is the chance of a peaceful take over”.

“Things are rarely that easy” sparks sighed “but it would be nice”.

As the ketch grew in size, they found themselves soon being dwarfed by the enormous ship and elsie approached the kell with a sigh “you know I always forget how big ketches are” she admitted.

Mithrax looked amused “big enough for kells to walk comfortably, must be big, ketches can hold entire houses” he looked to the window “this one plenty big enough for house light”.

The ketch did look quite worn, likely from the various years of sitting in the Venus days but for the most part, the fact that it was still floating was a very good sign. The crew started moving and arming up, dropping from the now open hangar and as the kell finally landed with an ominous thud, the skiff took off, cloaking to find somewhere safe to hide. 

The kell pulled out his large shrapnel launcher before crouching and looked to Kyraas “hide” he ordered. Kyraas didn’t hesitate to run over and climb onto his back and he stood “run off say so” he continued before letting out a loud call that echoed around them and into the cliffs in front of them, he then motioned to move forward. As the kell walked, his crew ran in front of him and elsie glided up to higher cliffs to see what she could see, she called out movement that she could see before rejoining the group. 

The call seemed to nullify any force that might have been hiding and as they reached where the path turned to flat ground, a rather large group of very nervous looking fallen hung around defensively. The area was spotted with old equipment and supplies that the fallen seemed to stand nearby.

Mithrax looked down to the fallen thoughtfully before speaking in eliksni “who leads eliksni of Venus?”.

A vandal stood forward nervously “none... light walkers broke house winter...” it replied “light walkers came often... stopped when dark came... took what remained...”

Mithrax looked to the ketch “how many eliksni stand?”.

“Few... cannot support more than few, fraction of house once was” it replied.

The kell nodded “I offer place in house light for all winter” he offered “will offer safety from light walkers and eliksni alike... if you refuse, will be killed when we take ketch for house light” he growled.

The fallen immediately looked uncomfortable “house light... heard of this house... speaks of betrayal... friend of light walkers...” the fallen backed up “smells of light walker... thought was trick?”.

Mithrax’s crew fidgeted with anticipation as the kell looked amused “word travels, but can assure safety, any eliksni under house light friend of light walkers, in return, eliksni are not killed by light walkers, kell commands light walkers” he looked to elsie “this light walker is highest of light walkers” he motioned to the titan to move forward “dance for misraaks” he ordered in common “show aliance”.

Elsie gave a nod and walked forward, putting her weapon away and as she burst into flame, she summoned her great hammer. “yes sir” she replied before raising her hammer up and slamming it down, solar light exploding around her before surging forward, engulfing a group of terrified eliksni and they let out fearful cries. 

They looked confused however when the light didn’t burn them and simply died down and the vandal looked at the them with fear “kell controls light walker?”.

Mithrax nodded “kell misraaks can promise safety from from light walkers, can also command to kill... wish to come peacefully... but do not misunderstand, will kill if refuse” he assured.

The fallen seemed to share a few looks before every fallen in the area kneeled nervously and they bowed their head “will join house...” they agreed.

Mithrax seemed pleased “good, there has been enough eliksni blood spilled “what is condition of ketch?”.

“Can fly, damaged from light walkers and dark touch, but can be repaired, ran out of supplies” they explained.

“Would make it to light walkers home?” Mithrax asked.

“Yes” they replied “not much further”.

“Good, will fix... help house light claim ketch, kill anyone who fights... save those who join cause” he ordered before motioning to move forward. The new fallen nervously joined the ranks of the crew as they all moved into the ketch and elsie hung back as not to freak them out too much. 

As they moved through the ship, slowly, there were some that fought the take over but for the most part, the fallen did choose to join and it was clear that the fallen here were just holding on. There didn’t seem to be a problem until the throne room that still showed the signs of battle, scars of explosions and bullet. This seemed to be where the remaining leaders of house winter were, four captains stood up defensively with threatening growls hearing the commotion approach and as Mithrax and his crew entered the room, the captains seem to hesitate before preparing themselves for a battle.

“What do you want...” barked one of them roughly.

“Your ketch is mine” Mithrax replied simply “offer place in house light or death” he explained, reloading his shrapnel launcher.

The captains shared a glance “what house?” He growled. 

“House light” Mithrax replied.

The captains immediately looked unsettled and angry “traitors to eliksni! Walk with light walkers” he accused with a growl and they aimed at the kell dangerously.

The kell chuckled “not traitors, simply smart” he replied “light walkers do not kill eliksni of house light, have created safety for eliksni from the most dangerous things in system... it’s useless to wage war against things that return from death”. 

“Will never accept this! Is not eliksni way...” he growled.

Mithrax chuckled “would you like to test my light walker in ways of eliksni? Would prefer not to kill, but will... would prefer to save eliksni, build new future”.

“Light walkers don’t know eliksni way” it spat.

The kell looked amused and switched to common “captain, show me will of house light... fight until you have proven your point” he chuckled. 

Elsie nodded and the crowd parted for her as she held her hand to the side, sparks appeared to float up to the kells shoulder as Elsie’s gun disappeared and instead two swords appeared in her hands and she spun them smoothly before stabbing them into the ground and cracked her knuckles woth a low growl, Her intent was clear.

The lead captain look disturbed but he could immediately tell the titan apart once she was separated from the eliksni and after a moment, he put his weapon away to match her threat with an amused growl. Elsie nodded and raised her swords defensively before motioning for him to come at her. The captain didn’t hesitate and sprinted toward her, beginning with a heavy blow but elsie had been practicing and easily deflected the blow, diverting the momentum to thrust her knee into the captains stomach before following up with a heavy elbow to his helmet, making him stagger backwards with shock. Elsie didn’t hesitate however, and threw herself into a shoulder charge knocking the captain back further and he was thrown back onto the floor, his blade clattering to the ground beside him. 

Elsie backed up and stood defensively in wait as the captain took a moment to recover looking stunned and that was when the rules went out of the door as another sprinted in to take over, refusing to lose the fight. The titan went on the defensive as the first got back to its feet to fight once more and it got a bit tight as elsie started to have to dodge two, however after taking a few blows, she got into the swing of it and started returning the blows once more and while she had been trying to avoid killing them, she finally started cutting into the captains as she broke past their defences much to their shock. It was a tense fight and seemed to go for a long time but a few minutes later, elsie had knocked both captains down and this tune they didn’t get up since they had well and truly lost, They were serverly wounded.

Elsie was wounded herself however she didn’t show it, she did however put her swords away and took her helmet off to spit up blood before crouching and offering her hands in a show of peace. Mithrax watched with amusement “do you like my light walker? There are many like her but this one is my favourite, captain leads light walkers, I lead captain”.

The captains looked angry before nodding in defeat “light walker fights like eliksni...” one of the captains replied “won... house winter bends to house light...”.

Elsie carefully helped the wounded captains to their feet and they accepted it somewhat begrudgingly, a little thrown off by the change in attitude but once they were up, elsie backed up and headed back to Mithrax, standing beside him. Sparks was quick to rejoin her and heal her as she was bleeding internally not that she was making a big deal out of it. 

Mithrax nodded “good, winter is no more, anyone who refuses is to be killed, misraaks impressed with will, give house light same will and will be rewarded” he assured before stepping over to the metal throne where he sat. The captains split for him and gave him a respectful nod and once settled, the kell gave his eliksni a look “prepare ship... go home, ensure there is no disobedience... captain, you stay here beside misraaks... pup, come out” he ordered. 

From the folds of the kells cloak, Kyraas jumped out and stood beside him defensively much to the shock of the captains who hadn’t realised she was there and elsie shifted to stand on the other side. His original crew took the order and disappeared further into the ship to complete there own orders. 

“How many light walkers do you own...” one of the captains asked looking unsure.

“Every light walker that chooses to enter house light is mine... made deal with leaders of light walkers. Guardians as like to be called answer to misraaks while in house light territory. Punished the same as eliksni if displease the eliksni” he assured. 

“You can really control them?” Another asked with surprise “light walkers took everything from house winter... was crushed...”.

“Cannot beat guardians with force... much too powerful, but why fight if could work together instead” he mused “become stronger force together, no longer fighting to survive because guardians help protect, eliksni look after selves without fear of guardian retribution” he looked thoughtful.

“How can you trust them? What if they turn?” Asked another. 

Misraaks chuckled “then would kill them, of course, house light will always come first... however” he put a large hand on Kyraas and Elsie’s helmets “have been friends with these guardians since pup was small, many years now, awoken grow slow, guardians have not turned yet, this pup more eliksni than awoken” he mused “makes for interesting pets”.

Kyraas looked thoughtful before speaking eliksni “have known kell for whole life, would never betray, would fight for him” she assured. 

The captains seemed surprised that she could speak eliksni “pup can speak?”.

“Yeah, one of my best friends is a captain” she shrugged “and I help out the kell a lot with guardian matters” she pointed to elsie before walking over and giving her a hug “this is my carer”. Elsie gave her a one armed hug in response before walking over to the new captains carefully “not all guardians can speak eliksni but I can and often speak for the guardians... can I help with your wounds or anything?” She offered.

They looked somewhat uneasy at her as it became clear that both Mithrax and elsie didn’t need to speak to make it clear that if they hurt the young girl, they would regret it. “no...” they looked to the girl “what are you? Look like vandal...”.

“It’s complicated... depends where I’m going, today I’m a vandal” she smiled “so house winter right? I’ve heard a lot about that house... may I look at your symbol?”.

“Why would pup have heard of house winter...” he asked “has been long time since name was spread....”.

The girl looked awkward for a moment “oh... uh... well my carer... she used to tell me stories about guardians stopping the house of winter on Venus... most people and eliksni thought the house was dead” she admitted “but here you are right? I think it’s cool” she explained.

The captains looked almost angry for a second but growled with annoyance under the intense stare from the kell and his guard “your light walkers broke house winter... your kell has come to take what’s left... archon will not be pleased” he finally admitted. 

“Archon?” Mithrax asked curiously.

The captain nodded “rare to see but provides ether for house winter... will certainly come out once realises... may not be able to convince to join cause”.

The kell looked thoughtful “do not need another archon...” he mused “pup, hide” he ordered as he stood, offering a hand. The girl instantly turned to ran over to grab his hand climb up his armour to settle under his cloak once more much to the captains confusion. 

“Do you protect this... pup?” The captain asked “why? It’s so weak”.

Mithrax chuckled “pup is weak, yes, however, considers pup pet... is power play, while pup is in my hands, guardians can not touch” he looked thoughtful “sometimes must do different to survive” he gave elsie a look “captain, stay, you will keep order... kill if necessary”.

Elsie gave a salute “yes sir” she mused and stood at attention watching the fallen thoughtfully. 

Mithrax looked to the eliksni “fight my captain if you dare... will not save you this time” he assured before walking deeper into the maze like ship. The eliksni looked at the captain warily beside the throne as if daring anyone to try and claim it from the kell. 


	28. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The winters ketch will belong to the the light by the end of the day.

The kell weaved carefully through the maze of corridors since everything else was being taken care of and he seemed to be looking for something, maybe even waiting for it but it was a few minutes before he stopped and entered a large room. It was almost church like as scrap lined the walls however. A raised platform stood at the front of the room with three large servitor laid on their sides on the ground, their eyes blinking weakly. It was clear they worked but barely and the the only other thing in the room was a large captain who was not nearly the size of the house of light archon, he looked starved and bigger than an average captain but only a few heads taller now. 

The archon didn’t notice their entrance to begin with as he tinkered with delicate care, appearing to be trying to fix one of the servitors. However when he noticed a noise he stood with an angry screech and threw parts angrily towards the door before pausing. It seemed as though he had not been expecting the kell. “What are you doing here...” he growled darkly “this is house winter territory” he threatened.

“You are archon of house winter?” Mithrax asked “this ketch belongs to me now... house winter is mine” he added “you can choose to die or join me”.

“No!” He screeched angrily, pulling out his swords “i am loyal to draksis... I will build honour of house light again!” He called out before laughing, he looked and sounded mad and perhaps if he had thought about it, he would have chosen a better path. Instead the archon thrust himself into a battle but it was short, misraaks seemed to let him get a few hits in, almost as if he pitied the archon, however with one heavy step, he restrained the captain beneath his foot before crushing the life out of him. Once he was sure the archon was dead, he picked the captain up thoughtfully “shame... went mad” he sighed and carried the captain back to the altar before leaving him there and turning to leave.

“What happened?” Kyraas asked quietly.

“Happens sometimes... house winter broke many times... loss of pride, strength and bonds can lead to madness... no helping mad eliksni... must be killed, would lead to death of more eliksni”. Mithrax sighed “glad could save most of house winter” he admitted “but do not need mad archon on hands”. 

“So what now?” Kyraas continued, crawling up to hang off his shoulder putting his cloak aside.

“We return to house... we repair ketch and look for place for eliksni... until then... you will stay with misraaks” he turned to look at her “stay away from winter until we know can trust”.

“Ok... so can all of house light live in this thing?” She asked curiously. 

“Yes” he nodded “comfortable for house light, even guardians could find place” he sighed as he moved into an area that led to the largest door she’d seen in a fallen ship. It was clearly built for kells as Mithrax didn’t need to duck at all unlike a lot of other doors even here. They entered a room that was full of torn blue banners that hung from the ceiling and walls. A large bed was centred in the room and a huge armoury stood on one side of the room that was clearly built for a kells over sized weapons. Mithrax reached up. To run his hand through the old cloth thoughtfully “shame eliksni broke like they did” he admitted. 

Kyraas looked thoughtful “I didn’t know eliksni had proper beds...” she admitted.

The kell looked unsure before motioning to the bed “only eliksni of power have such luxuries... and luxuries are rare, must make do with what is found... ketch will be better for eliksni” he admitted. 

A gentle rumble sounded around them and Mithrax looked thoughtful before turning and leaving the room. It was a few minutes before he found himself in a large command room and all of his crew was spread around the room with a few others working at the controls either. On noticing the kell, the leading captain approached and nodded “misraaks, ketch anchored to land but seems to be stuck on something, it won’t detach”.

“Send tyksis problem, misraaks go” he nodded “will take guardians with”.

After a moment, the captain had done as it was told and Mithrax one more paced through the ketch thoughtfully, returning to the throne room where elsie still stood guard. The eliksni seemed to have left and only a few uncertain adds hung around, eying the titan warily. The kell looked over to her as he continued “follow, have need for captain” he ordered and elsie nodded, falling into step effortlessly. 

As they walked towards the outside of the ship, there was now a skiff hovering in the hangar, anchored to the ceiling to keep it in place. Once they were on the deck, Mithrax crouched bear the edge and held onto a thick metal wire to lean over the edge and look below the ketch before looking to elsie “looking for anchor, potentially broken, will not detach... if find it, detach by any means necessary, will fix on earth”.

Elsie nodded thoughtfully and pulled out sparks to scan for a moment “what is the ship connected too? There’s a signal that’s blocking the ship, the way it reads, they just need to turn that signal off” sparks admitted “can you see it too tyksis?”.

The kells ghost appeared thoughtfully “yeah, she has a point, but it’s like the orders I give...” he admitted.

“Your orders?” Sparks repeated.

“Oh yeah, years ago, I learnt about... its kinda like a kill switch sort of thing that only kells can do. A kell gives an order, like this ship is to stay where it is, and the order is put in a system with a specific cammand which means only the kell can break said command, I learnt how to do it, and I do it all the time now” he chuckled.

“Sounds like kell of winter gave order before demise then... explains why ketch still here” he admitted “in that case, where is source of lock” he looked to his ghost.

“I can show you” tyksis replied, disappearing eagerly. And after a moment, the kell looked down thoughtfully.

“Follow if can, but if not, misraaks deal with” the kell muttered before jumping off and throwing himself towards the cliffs edge where he dug his hands into the wall to start climbing down effortlessly. Elsie was slow to follow as sparks found a slightly safer way to follow and they found themselves entering a cave mouth below the massive ketch.

Mithrax was Brought to all sixes in some parts of the tunnel as it shrunk but a short walk led them into a large open cavern that held an old fallen tech station, however the cavern wasn’t normal, dark patches covered the walls and black liquid was pooling up on the floor in places, elsie immediately stopped the kell with concern “wait... the taken were here... you should stay here, I’ll go” she insisted. 

“What is this?” Mithrax asked looking disturbed. 

“When oryx came with his army of hive, he had this ability to take anything he wanted, hive, fallen, cabal, vex... there were even rumours of guardians... we defeated him but what’s left of his ‘taken army’ still exists” elsie explained before carefully jumping down into the room, careful to avoid the pools of darkness. 

“I remember... a time of eliksni turning to dark creatures that shined” Mithrax looked thoughtful.

Elsie let sparks out protectively to check out the console and the titan stood guard looking on edge “usually this much taken isn’t just left here...” she admitted. 

“The signal from the ship goes through here, but this isn’t its final destination...” sparks muttered “it turns into a corrupted mess of data...”.

“That’s not a good sign” elsie sighed “can you scan for taken?”. 

After a moment, the ghost nodded thoughtfully but they were disrupted by Kyraas Suddenly letting out a cry “something’s coming, move!”

On her words, a deep rumbling sounded as a blight formed above the shocked titan and she reached out to grab her ghost before throwing sparks towards the kell and the ghost hit the surprised kell with a thud and the stunned ghost barely saved herself from hitting the ground looking dazed. It was only then elsie escaped as adds spawned around her.

Mithrax leaned down to pick up the ghost looking unsure “sparks ok? Why would captain throw?” He lifted their ghost to put it under his cloak “pup hold”.

Kyraas took the ghost on command and sparks blinked unsure “elsie... where did she go?” She murmured looking confused. 

“I got you” Kyraas assured “I’m sure she’s ok”.

“The dark...” she sighed tiredly “wake me when elsie is done... I need to sort things” she muttered before powering down in the girls hands.

Elsie however had begun to engage in a tight fight, dancing in an out of a small blighted area as she avoided the pools of dark sludge while fighting off taken adds. Despite not having her ghost, she didn’t hesitate to fight as hard as she could and Mithrax not sure of how to help, hung back looking uncertain, killing any adds instantly if they approached him and his cargo. 

Elsie effortlessly shut down the blight after a tense few minutes and once she was sure that was it, she dropped to her knees tiredly, Mithrax looked to her with concern “captain ok?”.

Elsie nodded “yeah... We can go once we figure out where this code is” she assured “is sparks ok?”.

“Sparks seems fine... why would you throw? Won’t sparks break?” Mithrax asked carefully.

“Normally, I wouldn’t but blights absorb the light around them and if a ghost is nearby, they can be taken, usually it’s fine because we protect them but sparks was on her own, it was quicker to get her away from the darkness” she explained “I trusted you to catch her if she needed it” she admitted.

“Pup has her now” Mithrax explained. 

“Good, she can stay there for now” elsie nodded and stood, returning to the console “this might take a second” she muttered as she started manually working with the machine. She was not nearly as adept with tech as her ghost was so it took a few minutes but she eventually stood back looking confused and thoughtful and as she turned, she paused as a heavy feeling came over the cavern and from one of the spots in the wall, the centre started glowing briefly before elsie was thrown back by a dark burst of energy and she landed on her back in one of the pools. Elsie got up quickly looking pained and her back was now tainted black like the walls. 

Out of the wall then stepped a large captain, almost kell like in size and he dragged himself out of the darkness with a cry that echoed pain and sounds that sounded like a mix of races. Elsie reacted slowly and as the captain stood it swung its arm in a smooth fashion and darkness bled from its form before being thrown towards the titan who instantly staggered on being hit with the smoky cloud. 

Mithrax moved into action quickly, teleporting behind the taken captain to hold his arms back tightly and the captain let out an angry cry before teleporting with a smoky trail across the room and it reached out to grab the Titans cloak before elsie let out a painful cry as the dark seemed to swallow her whole, the captains hand glowing ominously. The captain then threw the titan forward and she landed roughly, barely able to lift herself before collapsing and not moving. 

Mithrax let out an angry cry and engaged in a more intense fight, pulling out his swords to cut through the taken captain one hit at a time. It was a good minute before the taken captain let out a weak pained cry before its form collapsed into itself and vanished. Elsie however hadnt moved. 

The kell looked to the machine which now flashed indicating the ship was now free and a large clunking noise could be heard in the distance, his gaze then turned to the captain and he carefully picked her up as he crawled up to the safer ledge before crouching and he set the titan on his lap looking unsure “pup, is captain ok?”.

Kyraas Carefully jumped out of safety and let out a scared squeak “no... this is bad” she whispered tearing up before carefully taking the Titans helmet off. Elsie was unconscious but her skin was a dull black with a blue burning light under her skin, Her hair had gone white.

“What is this?” Mithrax asked carefully.

“It looks like she’s been taken...” Kyraas explained tearfully before pulling the titan into a hug “I don’t know how to help her”. Elsie seemed to stir to the attention letting out a pained whimper that sounded hollow almost and Kyraas looked hopeful “elsie?”.

The titan seemed to find it hard to come back to her but when she finially opened her eyes, they glowed a bright white, looking almost confused. She turned her gaze to the kell who held her looking unsure before her gaze was pulled to the girl and she stared emotionlessly.

“Elsie... you remember me right?” Kyraas asked gently.

The titan didn’t respond and after a moment, escaped the kells hold weakly, getting to her feet with a stagger and she coughed before throwing up dark sludge looking tired. 

Mithrax looked to the girl “what should misraaks do?”.

“I don’t know.... but we have to bring her with... surely Skye can help maybe...” Kyraas muttered. 

“Hide them, I bring captain back” he nodded.

“Just be careful, I don’t know if she is safe” she warned tearfully.

The kell looked thoughtful before grabbing the Titans helmet which was dark in her hands and the kell carefully walked over to pull the titan into a gentle hold. Elsie seemed unsettled but seemed to allow him to carry her as he carefully made his way out and up to the safety of the ship. As the kell set her back on her feet, elsie collapsed and simply laid on her side tearing up looking lost. 

Mithrax looked torn at this point and crouched “tyksis, call Skye” he ordered. 

The ghost did as he was told and it was mere moments before Skye answered “Skye speaking, what can I do for you Mithrax?”.

“Misraaks have problem... friend elsie has been taken” he explained “do not know what to do with her” he admitted.

“What? Taken by what?” She asked “I wouldn’t worry too much, she will probably fight them off if you catch up to them” she assured confidently. 

Kyraas freed herself from the kell “no Skye, we mean taken... as in darkness taken... this isn’t something she can fight” she added tearfully, crouching next to the titan carefully.

The warlock seemed to pause “open your video feed, let me see” she replied quietly, as of afraid of what she would see. Once she saw, she was quiet before finally managing to speak “what happened....”.

“Dark captain held cloak, hand glowed and captain looked pained. Landed in dark water” Mithrax explained. 

“Is she agressive?” Skye whispered.

“Seems lost more than anything...” Mithrax replied.

“I want you to bring her to me, but keep her away from anyone, just try and contain her as best you can, I don’t know what she will do, but don’t trust her ok” Skye urged “where’s her ghost?”.

Kyraas pulled out the sleeping ghost “here, a blight appeared on top of her so she was a bit confused”.

“When sparks is awake, have her call me” Skye added “just... try not to upset her if you can, it’s not safe for you guys”.

Mithrax nodded “so be it, will be returning soon, stand by” he muttered and the ghost ended the conversation. The kell seeing that the titan didn’t seem fussed on moving, once more picked her up gently and the titan looked around vaguely, but so far allowed for the kell to continue carrying her and Mithrax walked carefully into the ketch with Kyraas following with concern. 

As they walked past the hangar, the kell slowed before looking up to hIs skiff and he reached up to pull himself and the titan up instead of going further. The ship was dark but he didn’t mind as he weaved his way through it and once he reached the kells quarters, he set the titan down gently, Kyraas who followed looked unsure “what are you doing?”.

“Skye said to stay away, so this is best Misraaks can do without putting her in ketch confinement”. As he left the room, he pressed a hand against the wall and the doorway started glowing an ominous blue in darkness “will leave her here so eliksni do not attack her”.

Kyraas put her hand against the door and looked at the titan with guilt “can I stay with her? I mean... just watch her... I don’t want to leave her alone”.

The kell seemed to think about it for a moment before sighing “I suppose so... but call misraaks if anything happens, do not trust her like Skye says, I will turn lights on for you” he muttered before moving to the control room and after a moment, the lights flickered on. The kell then left quietly to continue on into the ketch.

Kyraas settled on the floor in the doorway and quietly watched the titan with concern. Elsie didn’t seem to want to move from the bed she’d been placed on to start with and in the quiet, you could hear her break into quiet pained sobs. It was a few minutes before the ketch outside seemed to rumble into life and there was a groan as the ship rocked indicating the ketch around them was moving. 

Elsie sat up instantly as the skiff moved and she looked around with fear before getting up and looking around unsteadily, when she caught Kyraas gaze, she stared at her with an indistinguishable look before walking over and pressing her hands against the door.

Kyraas stood to look at her “you ok elsie?”.

The titan close up was starting to look quite gross, black liquid trailed from her lips and eyes and she didn’t seem to realise or if she did, she didn’t bother to tidy herself up. Elsie simply stared at her in response to her question before she looked at the forcefield under her hands almost thoughtfully. 

“What’s wrong” Kyraas tried again, gently putting her hands on hers on the other side of the door.

The titan didn’t acknowledge her and her hands started to glow as she closed her eyes making Kyraas step back with fear, after a moment though, elsie looked annoyed and after looking over the door that was still in her way, she scanned the rest of the room before turning back to the door and it was sudden when black lightning exploded around her as she lifted her hands up to slam her fists on the door making it flicker. The titan did this again only for the same result and the door remained in her way making her look angry but after a moment of trying to get through the glowing doorway, elsie broke into tears and slid to the ground, leaning against the door in defeat.

Kyraas carefully got to her knees tearing up “talk to me elsie... please...” she begged.

Elsie looked to her tearfully “it hurts...” she whimpered, her voice echoing with distant sounds of many different races.

“We are going to fix it, I promise” kyraas replied, putting her hands against the door supportively “I promise”.

The titan rested her head against the door and brought a hand to her ear absentmindedly looking upset but she didn’t seem to want to do much after that. It was quite a long time before Kyraas realised that elsie had begun to scratch and pull on her hair with irritation causing pain, but it didn’t seem to bother her nearly as much as whatever else she was thinking about as she was never too far away from tears and dark sludge never stopped escaping from her mouth and eyes. 

An hour has passed before the titan suddenly became animated and she sat up looking horrified “no... wheres sparks?” She whispered before looking around “sparks?”. She got up to circle the room quickly breaking down further “SPARKS?!” She called out desperately. 

Kyraas was quick to pull the ghost out and she blinked to life with a yawn “calm down, I’m fine” she muttered “no thanks to you throwing me...”. 

The titan looked a little confused before teleporting to the door and dropping down to her knees once more looking relieved “sparks... help me...” she whispered holding her hands to the door.

The ghost froze on seeing the titan “what happened to you?” 

“There was a taken captain... a big one, a kell or something and it took her” Kyraas explained with guilt.

Sparks looked to the door controls before looking at the titan with guilt “is she agressive?”.

“She kinda was... it was kinda like black arc and she tried to break past the barrier but I guess she couldn’t and just kinda gave up” Kyraas muttered “she says it hurts... that’s all I can get out of her until I guess she remembered you existed”.

Elsie had crumbled into upset tears and started beating on the door in weak defeat muttering a string of words that didn’t make sense. Sparks looked once more to the door before scanning it briefly and she eyed the titan before carefully flying into the room “elsie?”.

The titan looked up instantly and reached for her making sparks dodge. “Sparks” she breathed “your so bright...”.

“Thank you... but don’t touch... I don’t feel like being held” she muttered carefully “how are you feeling?”.

Elsie looked almost offended “what’s wrong? What did I do? Are the voices right?” She asked tearing up and covering her ears.

“Voices?” Sparks repeated “can you hear things?”.

“Whispers... they say things...” she whispers “you abandoned me...” she murmured before looking hurt “why... where were you...” she turned and looked at the ghost accusingly, standing slowly “where were you....” she asked dangerously. 

Sparks looked shocked and backed up “elsie... you threw me away... remember... there was a-“.

Black lightning sparked around the titan as she glared angrily “liar...” she spat before lunging forward. The ghost could barely dodge but she wasted no time ducking through the barrier and elsie once more beat against the wall with explosions of black light, letting out an angry cry “I will take you...” she threatened darkly “and you will help me if I have to force you too”.

Sparks looked shocked “elsie... you don’t mean... I swear I want to help... but... I can’t allow you too...”. The titan stared at the ghost with hatred before giving the door one final hit and she walked away to settle on the bed moodily. 

Kyraas offered her hand “you know she didn’t mean it” she whispered weakly “she’d never...”.

Sparks settled on her hand looking utterly defeated, if she could cry, she would have “i didn’t know... I wasn’t paying attention... maybe if I...” she trailed off weakly.

“I didn’t see it... but I’m sure there was nothing you could have done” Kyraas assured gently “Skye will fix this, I promise”.

“Does she know?” Sparks asked.

“Yeah... she was the first person Mithrax asked... if anyone can fix this, she can” Kyraas nodded before placing a hand on the door looking depressed towards the titan.

After a while, elsies temper seemed to run dry and she laid down rather than sitting up, curling up in silence for the rest of the trip. Kyraas eventually leaned up against a wall and dozed off on the floor with her ghosts looking after her. It was a few hours before Kyraas woke with a start as she was stirred by someone gently grabbing her shoulder. She came face to face with Skye who looked concerned.

“Hey sweety, you ok?” She asked carefully, her emotions were unreadable, a mix of many yet not settling on any of them.

Kyraas nodded and swallowed hard “yeah.. I just fell asleep... I didn’t want to leave elsie alone” she admitted sleepily.

“I think she would appreciate that” Skye replied quietly “tell me everything you know ok?”. Kyraas took a second to wake up a bit allowing Skye to settle on her knees and take out her book and a pen, it was then that the girl begun and explained everything she had seen and hadn’t seen. When she was finished, the warlock had teared up silently however remained focused on her work. 

“Thank you, I’ll see what I can do” she sighed as she stood.

Kyraas looked hopeful “do you know how to fix it?”.

Skye was quiet for a moment “no... but there has to be a way...” she replied “Hope, stay outside, I’ll be fine” she promised before letting herself into the room carefully, Her ghost waited outside uncertainly. Kyraas got up with worry to watch with her company of concerned ghosts.

Elsie was slow to notice her but on seeing the warlock, she simply stared tearfully. They watched as a dull orb appeared in the warlocks hands and begun to glow. the Titans gaze moved to the orb and after a moment, Skye kneeled down to set it on the ground before rolling it towards her and she waited. 

The orb rolled ominously toward the titan and after a long moment, she picked it up and clutched it close with a tired sigh before her hands glowed brightly and black light begun to swallow the light completely. Once the light was gone, elsie didn’t seem interested in the orb anymore and set it to the side. Her gaze moved back to the warlock looking cold and emotionless. She did seem to look more shiny in her darkness however, looking a little more comfortable.

Skye seemed to think about that for a moment before getting up slowly “do you feel better?” She asked carefully. The titan seemed to think about her response before giving a short nod. And skye looked unsure “do you mind if I come closer?”.

This immediatly made the titan sit up looking uncomfortable and scared “stay away from me... I will kill you...” she threatened.

Skye immediately stepped back and put her hands up “ok ok, you got it sweety, ill stay back here” she promised quickly “will you talk to me if I stay here?”.

Elsies gaze didn’t move from the warlock but she seemed indecisive “what do you want...” she finally replied quietly.

“I just want to ask a few questions, I want to help you” Skye promised gently “do you remember me?”.

The titan looked unsure before looking confused as if she was trying but couldn’t remember “why would you help me...” she whispered with fear.

Skye bit her lip “because I love you” she replied “is my bear there?”.

The titan teared up before bringing a hand to her cheeks with confusion and she stood uncertainly “I don’t know what your talking about...”. 

“It’s fine” Skye replied gently, resisting the urge to start crying “how do you feel?”.

Elsie looked lost and brought her hands to her ears, black now oozed from her hair near her ears where she’d scratched wounds into her scalp “I don’t understand...” she replied “I don’t know what to do...”.

Skye took a careful step forward “I can help” she promised gently “all you have to do is listen to me”.

Elsie shook her head “the voices say your trying to trick me... I don’t believe you” she looked defensive.

“Voices? Can you hear things?” Skye asked.

Elsie nodded “so loud... I want quiet...” she whimpered, pulling at her hair.

Skye looked hopeful “how about you listen to me instead, I promise I’ll be quiet” 

Elsie looked torn before looking unwell and got to her knees before throwing up black sludge, she looked pained, clutching her stomach. 

Skye carefully took a few steps crying silently “sweety, can I help you? Please... I want to make it better”.

Elsie gave the warlock a long look “there’s one voice that trusts you... the rest...” she looked afraid.

Skye took a second think “how about I give you some light? Like I did before” she swept her hand to the right and a pool of light extended from her feet and she got to her knees before offering her hands “come to me sweety”.

The titan looked immediatly torn but it seemed to do the trick after a moment as she slowly crawled over to her, hesitating just out of reach until she finally moved into the light and into the reach of the warlock. The titan instantly looked a little more relaxed as she absorbed the light and Skye gently offered her hands “that’s right, come to me...” Skye soothed lovingly.

The titan seemed to want to fight her for a moment before allowing the warlock to touch her and eventually, Skye pulled her into a supportive hug and elsie collapsed into more tears “so warm...”. 

Skye cuddled her tightly looking upset “its ok bear, I’ll fix it” she promised quietly before bringing a hand to Stoke her hair lovingly “tell me everything”.

Elsie relaxed almost completely in her arms and cuddled against her before looking up her “who are you...” she whispered “I swear I know you but I don’t remember”.

“It doesn’t matter, do you know who you are?” Skye asked gently.

The titan looked unsure before shaking her head “no...”

Skye bit her lip bitterly and gave her a loving squeeze “it doesn’t matter... what do you remember?” She continued carefully.

Elsie looked distant before replying “So lonely...” she whispered before starting to cry “my heart is gone... I need sparks...” she crumbled in the warlocks arms “I need help... I need her...”.

“You remember sparks?” Skye clarified.

“My ghost... I need her” she nodded before gripping the warlocks robes “please... she can fix it... she can help...”.

The warlock nodded “ok, I’ll do what I can” she promised gently “what can she help with?”.

“The voices say she can protect me... that I need her... I won’t survive without her... I need her light...” elsie explained before looking distant “I want... need to take her” she whispered.

Skye hesitated before speaking “you can’t do that” she replied gently “but if it’s light you need, I can give it to you” she assured.

Elsie instantly looked cut up “you would stand in my way too?...” she sat up “I thought you would help... you said you would...” she accused tearfully. 

Skye looked afraid “I will help, I swear... I just-“

Elsie stood angrily “you will help” she agreed, her hands starting to glow. 

Skye instantly rolled to her feet and backed up defensively towards the door “baby, come on bear, you don’t have to do this”.

“I clearly do” elsie hissed before lunging forward and Skye blinked backwards in response before accidentally hitting a wall. She quickly dodged a heavy glowing fist from the titan and moved to the door only to get halfway through. The titan however caught her hand and Skye let out a cry as a prickling sensation immediatly started spreading up her hand. 

The warlock turned to thrust her knee into the Titans stomach making her gasp and stagger back before she threw up looking pained, Skye took the opportunity to escape and clutched her arm panting, black had stretched up to her forearm and she burst into tears.

Elsie was unusually slow to recover but when she did, she returned to the door and thrust herself Against the door in yet another effort to break free, it was just as useless as before and she let out an angry scream, crackling with black energy. 

Hope floated over carefully to scan the warlocks arm and after a moment, it glowed briefly before returning to the light with a flinch from Skye. “she doesn’t mean it, you know this... she can’t control herself” she assured gently.

“She’s in so much pain...” she whispered weakly. 

“Let me out!” Elsie screeched angrily “I just want out! I just want to live! I want to end this!” She continued beating against the door despite the little affect that the action had. 

“Baby please, we just want to help” Skye begged weakly “calm down, your going to hurt yourself”.

Elsie didn’t pay attention to her words, trying with everything she had to try and break free until she broke into heavy coughs and collapsed, coughing up more black sludge until she threw up weakly and she leaned on the door with defeat “I don’t want to die...” she whimpered. 

The warlock waited until elsie had calmed as much as she was going to before kneeling on the other side of the door “I won’t let you die, I promise” she carefully leaned through the door enough to press a loving kiss to the Titans forehead and lovingly stroked her head, she didn’t let the titan catch her again however. 

Hope looked thoughtful “I think I may have found a way to bring her back... but I can’t do it here, and I don’t know if it will even work without hurting or killing her... granted, it was only your arm, but I just had to overwhelm the darkness in your arm, theoretically, we could do the same with elsie if we had enough light and sparks would probably need to do it so it was the right light” she looked unsure “I don’t know how long we have” she admitted. 

Sparks moved to the door carefully and scanned the titan with concern “I’m reading a lot of pain...” after a moment she looked horrified “that’s cruel... it’s like her own blood is killing her... like it turned to acid, it’s slowly eating away at her... she will die if we don’t do something” she muttered weakly.

“Do you have a time frame?” Skye asked with fear.

“At this rate?... I don’t know... but I don’t think it’s more than a week” sparks replied “how do we fix this?”. 

Skye bit her lip “if we need to give her a lot of light... then I’m not sure, I need to find a place that I can modify...”.

“So we have to move her from here? How?” Spark looked defeated “how can we trust her to leave here and not escape... let alone what if she rampages and takes anyone else?”.

“I don’t know yet... but I have work to do...” she sniffed tearfully.

“Mithrax was carrying her around before, and you kinda had her friendly before too, maybe there’s a way to get her to be friendly? Or even if we found a way to block her taken powers” Kyraas suggested hopefully “does something like that exist?”.

“There’s a way to block the light but...” Skye looked uncertain “I don’t know if taken powers work like that” she admitted before standing with guilt “I don’t have any time to waste... are you staying?” She asked.

Kyraas bit her lip, she didn’t want to leave the titan alone but she wanted to tidy herself up so she shook her head reluctantly “I’ll be back... I haven’t had a chance to report and stuff...” she admitted before looking to elsie “but I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise”.

Elsie was no longer acknowledging them, simply crying painfully and sparks watched her closely “I’ll stay... I’ll send a message if something happens” she promised quietly looking guilty. The two gave her an equally guilty nod before reluctantly leaving together, although once in the ground, Skye basically sprinted off to do what she needed to do, looking determined.


	29. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misfortune follows promise.

It was hours before Skye was searching for Mithrax and he was no where to be seen, although she’d heard rumours that he was in the ketch somewhere. After what felt like a long search, she finally found him in the ketch throne room after getting mildly lost first and the kell greeted her with a nod.

“Skye... welcome to ketch” he mused “what can misraaks do for you?”.

Skye kneeled politely before standing “I came to ask you some questions, Kyraas told me you could carry elsie without her getting aggressive... I wanted to find out how you did it?” She admitted “we are going to have to move her once I figure out where I can help her”.

The kell looked thoughtful “captain seemed to be... tired perhaps as you may call, slow, not paying attention, not sure if had will to fight at time, don’t know why” he admitted “was kell who took her, so perhaps was something to do with that” he shrugged “have been told she has become quite dangerous... heard reports of angry screams”.

Skye nodded “elsie has always had a bit of a short temper” she admitted “it appears that temper is much shorter now” she sighed “she doesn’t remember who I am, let alone who she is, all she knows is she wants her ghost so I guess I don’t blame her for being angry”.

Mithrax nodded before standing “come with misraaks” he ordered before walking towards the hangar “how do you plan on fixing this...”.

Skye fell into step beside him “I have a few ideas... but I also have a few problems. Firstly, I need a room or place that I can use to transfer a lot of light at once, and I know of only one place off the top of my head, that place is mars, which is a problem in itself” she bit her lip.

“You speak of red planet?” He asked.

“Yes” Skye nodded.

“Ah, eliksni never could get hold on red planet... too many... cabal and vex... as guardians speak” he looked thoughtful “why there?”.

“There’s an old bunker there where a lot of guardian experimentation takes place, it was fixed up at some point and I think I could manipulate enough light there to help elsie, but it’s a long trip and I’m not sure if I could even get her out of the skiff to get her there without her going mad at me or whoever is with me” she looked defeated.

The kell thought about the problem for a moment before replying “what does this room need? Misraaks might know place” he admitted.

“Essentially, sparks needs to give elsie enough light to bring her back, but she can’t hold that much light all at once” Skye sighed “so i thought, we provide her with a battery that she can fill with an over kill amount of light, and then sparks releases it into the room where hopefully it will bring her back”. The warlock looked defeated “I just don’t know how I’m going to do it, because I suppose I could take her to the tower but that would be incredibly dangerous... I can’t risk that”.

The kell nodded before changing direction “knows of place, you may need to make changes but with your skills, will not be hard” he admitted “ketch has confinement area, has resources for ether distribution and torture, whatever is necessary at the time, but may be able to use for your purpose” he offered and after a few minutes, the hallway they walked though opened up to a a large room filled with small holes evenly spaced in the walls. They were big enough for a captain to comfortably fit inside and Mithrax approached one to press his hand on a control pad. A blue force field appeared block the entrance, creating a small but strong cell. 

Skye let hope take a long look at the mechanics before the ghost looked hopeful “I think I can engineer this to work, all that would be left is the battery and then getting her here without losing her or her guard”.

The kell motioned to the room “may use this as long as return to working order after” he nodded “as for moving her... let us visit her, see if she still likes me” he chuckled darkly. 

“Maybe she might have forgiven me, who knows” Skye muttered weakly. 

It was a few minutes before the kell climbed effortlessly up into the skiff, carrying Skye so she didn’t have to jump and they carefully made their way back to where elsie was trapped.

Elsie was in a worse state then before, her body was fine because she was armoured and couldn’t really hurt herself but her head looked bad, she had clearly made things worse as she now bled from a few more places where she’d either scratched or done other equally as damaging things to herself. She looked filthy, her dull black skin was stained with shiny black blood and there was barely a place that wasn’t marked from her various escapades. She was still curled up at the door looking utterly defeated but as she looked up, she looked terrified at the kell who appeared on the other side of the door. In response, she stood unsteadily and backed up, muttering indistinguishable words. 

The kell looked at the titan thoughtfully “Captain is hurting herself... seems more awake then before...” he observed.

Skye moved to the door to look with guilt “she’s getting so much worse... she wasn’t this bad this morning” she looked a bit scared “she will kill herself at this point”.

On seeing Skye, a mix of emotions seemed to over whelm her briefly and she seemed to judge whether the kell was safe or not before deciding either it was, or that she didn’t care. The titan staggered back to the door looking pained “I’m sorry...” she whimpered “don’t leave me again... I don’t know who you are, but I know I need you...” she looked at the warlock tearfully “please”. 

“Seems like some loyalties still remain” Mithrax noted.

Skye however was stunned into silence for a moment before replying “she was talking about voices... things she was hearing, and she said one of them was different to the others... I think it’s what’s left of her, trying to help her make sense of this” she placed a hand on the door and the titan pressed her forehead against the door longingly. “She has the power to take... so I’m not sure how I should approach her” Skye admitted with guilt.

Mithrax looked thoughtful before clapping, instantly getting the Titans attention making her look anxious and he gave her the retreat signal that elsie herself had taught her “move back” he ordered sternly.

The titan seemed confused for a second before retreating a little awkwardly looking unsure “are you the one?” She asked quietly “I can’t hear you...” she muttered with confusion.

Skye looked surprised “what do you mean the one?”.

“Creator...” she whispered before looking unsure “feros... of house winter... I heard his name... but then he was gone and you were there...” she slipped into perfect Eliksni about half way through despite not knowing the language.

The kell suddenly looked knowing “your aligence lies in house winter?”. The titan nodded although she didn’t seem properly convinced. Mithrax then chuckled “than you know eliksni way? I killed your kell... you belong to Misraaks now” he explained with amusement.

The titan looked shocked after a slow reaction “I belong to you?” She whispered “I didn’t know...” she looked unsure before putting her hands to her head looking upset “I don’t know anything...”. 

Skye looked deeply thoughtful before muttering to herself before speaking out loud “it makes sense... a cabal leader can give the taken a purpose... they act more strategic... naturally a fallen leader would give their own taken a fallen structure...” she looked to elsie “we can use this... as long as we don’t make her too mad I think”. 

“What is on skye’s mind?” Mithrax Asked with interest. 

“Maybe you can just ask or order her to go to where I want...” Skye replied “or even just order her to not harm me, maybe I can manipulate her like that...”.

“Ah, understands, I give you higher rank, she may follow your orders” the kell looked thoughtful “may work as long as treat her like eliksni”. 

Skye gave the titan a long gaze “there’s just one thing I want to try before you try giving her orders, Hope, stay here for a second” she muttered before carefully letting herself in with her hands up “hey, Do you mind if I talk to you?” She asked gently.

The titan shifted to stare at her looking torn between emotions “perhaps...”.

“How do you feel, do you need anything? Light?” Skye prompted gently “something to eat or drink?”.

The titan was quiet “no..” she replied simply after a moment before turning and walking to the opposite side of the room to settle on the ground and she started to play with her cloak anxiously, looking emotionless. 

Skye bit her lip thoughtfully, usually the titan was quite easy to read, she was usually always happy but even if she had something on her mind, Skye could generally tell if she needed someone to talk to. Now though, she couldn’t tell what the titan wanted or needed, she couldn’t even tell if she was even relatively safe to be around. “Hey, are you ok?” Skye asked gently.

The titan gave her a look before looking away “no... why do I still exist...” she murmured.

Skye took a careful step closer “do you need a purpose?” She continued carefully.

The titan seemed slow to react but after a moment, teared up and looked to her hands “there’s nothing...” she whispered “no reason to exist... my kell is gone... my orders are nothing...” she twitched anxiously “what do I do?... I’m going to die... but for what...” she continued “why... there’s no point in taking light... there’s only darkness and death... there’s nothing...” she trailed off to silence.

“Why don’t you give yourself a purpose?” Skye offered.

The titan looked almost disgusted at the thought “I can’t... I exist to serve..” she looked to skye “I don’t exist for any other reason... I don’t know any other way...”.

“What about Mithrax? Your new kell? Isn’t that enough?” Skye asked, creeping closer slowly.

Elsie looked to the kell “there’s nothing... he can’t... I can’t connect too... no... it doesn’t work...” she muttered “the voices don’t trust him...” she shook her head before bringing her hand to her ear absentmindedly to scratch herself anxiously “I’m going to die alone...” she murmured weakly. 

Skye has managed to get a few steps away and she carefully got to her knees quietly “the voices... tell me about them...”. 

The titan looked distracted and clutched here heir tearing up “they whisper... they are never silent... they don’t trust anything... or anyone...” she took a second to spit up dark sludge “they want me to survive... but they know... I’m dying.. they taunt me... they tell me to do things... but then there’s this one... I like that voice... it’s kind... she says to trust in her... but the others say she tricks me... I don’t know who to believe... and for a second there was one... my kell who silenced all others.. but then he was gone... and I don’t know what to do...” she looked to the warlock “they say my ghost can make all the voices go away” she explained hopefully “that my ghost can end it... that she can help.... but sparks betrayed me... and then she wouldn’t help....” she broke into sobs “I’ve been abandoned by everyone... and you... even you... I don’t understand why but when you left... I just don’t understand why everyone leaves...” she whimpered “why?” She looked hurt.

Skye bit her like tearing up “can I approach you? I won’t hurt you, I promise”.

The titan seemed indecisive despite her obvious feelings “why”.

“I want to hold my bear” Skye admitted gently “your lost, and as long as you promise not to take me, then I will give you all the help and attention you want and need ok?” She looked hopeful and offered her hands “please bear, there’s one voice that knows me, you just need to listen to her for a little, I won’t hurt you”.

The titan looked deeply torn before nodding slowly “who are you...”.

Skye very slowly approached to carefully sit beside her and like she was a wild animal, very slowly wrapped her arms around her gently “I’m your angel, does that that ring a bell?”.

Despite looking uncomfortable for a moment, the titan didn’t take long before she relaxed in her arms and leaned against her tiredly and her brought a hand up to feel her armour “angel...” she murmured “she says she knows you...” she admitted weakly “but I don’t remember... and my chest hurts when I look at you...”.

“Can I talk to the voice?” She asked gently “can I ask you questions?”. Despite the blood and filth that was now starting to cover the titan completely, Skye gently stroked her hair. 

“You can’t hear her...” Elsie whispered “not without joining me...”

Skye shook her head “can you tell her what she says?”.

The titan thought about it before nodding “ok”. 

Skye looked thoughtful before continuing “is someone named elsie there?”.

“Yes...” the titan nodded.

Skye looked hopeful “where is she?”.

The titan looked distant before replying “the voice claims she is elsie... says it’s dark and cold... lonely... misses her sky...” she sighed and teared up further “she makes me cry...” she whimpered.

Skye gently put a hand on her cheek “tell her she doesn’t need to cry, her Skye will fix it ok”.

Elsie gave her a small smile “she would like that...” she then looked depressed “the others don’t want it to be fixed... they say they will die, that it’s a trap...” she admitted before leaning against the warlock heavily, almost childishly “who am I...” she asked “you call me bear... the voice says I can trust the one who calls me bear...”.

Skye looked thoughtful “I call you that because that’s what you are to me, you are my bear, I love you, I call you bear because you give the best hugs... your strong and tough... and most importantly, you protected me once, perhaps elsie remembers” she looked indecisive before pulling out a cloth and she gently started cleaning the Titans face lovingly “while I can’t allow you to hurt anyone else... it kills me to see you like this” she admitted.

The titan didn’t fight her looking tired but seemed confused, as if she was questioning herself “I’ve never met you before...” she whispered. 

Skye bit her lip but focused on cleaning up the titan, blood slowly trickled down from her hair constantly from the various wounds the titan has caused from scratching and pulling. She did her best however and for a moment, elsie looked almost normal even in her darkened state. With the black blood gone, she just looked lost and Skye seemed to look torn “do you trust me?” She asked gently.

The titan seemed to think about it before nodding slowly and Skye looked uncertain for a second before gently bringing her hand under the Titans chin and she pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead before gauging elsies response and she seemed confused but not against the attention. Skye then leaned in to press a gentle kiss against her lips and after a moment of confusion, the titan instantly melted to the attention happily, responding eagerly. There was definitely some part of her that remembered her. 

Skye pulled away breathlessly and held the titan lovingly “even if you don’t remember... you are one the most important people too me, so if you can trust me in, I will always look after you” she promised.

Elsie teared up but this time smiled honestly for the first time since she’d been taken and she sighed looking content “I trust you” she murmured happily. 

Skye chuckled and moved to clean up her tears “your so messy” she mused gently.

The titan let out a quiet laugh “what do you mean? Messy?”.

Skye held up the now filthy cloth playfully “yes, look at this mess, what am I going to do with you” she teased “I’ll have to force you into a bath in a second “ she smiled.

Elsie looked confused before noticing what the warlock was referring to. “Oh... blood... am I bleeding?” She looked unsure before looking at her hands that were filthy “why am I bleeding?” She murmured with confusion.

Skye looked a little surprised that the titan hadn’t realised “never mind, your fine” she promised hoping she hasn’t upset the very delicate titan “would you come with me?” She asked gently. 

“It depends” elsie replied with a sigh, settling comfortably once more. 

“Depends on what?” Skye asked.

“If it’s safe” she admitted “as much as we all hate it in here... nothing can get us here... or at least nothing that we can’t take if we need too” she started playing with the warlocks armour thoughtfully “I can probably survive an attack in here...”.

“Well I can protect you, I just want to take you somewhere safer, that’s all” Skye promised gently. 

“Safer?” She looked unsure “what’s wrong with here?”.

Skye looked thoughtful “nothing, I just want to make sure your safe but it’s ok if you want to stay here” she smiled before looking concerned as elsie looked very sick and clutched her stomach painfully. “Are you ok bear?” Skye asked gently.

Elsie didn’t respond, instead shifting to get to her hands and knees tenderly and after a moment, she threw up black sludge weakly “no...” she finally whimpered. 

“Can I help?” Skye continued hopefully. 

Elsie shook her head “no...” she murmured “I’m dying...”. 

The warlock looked torn before looking decisive “well do you mind if I come back later?”.

The titan looked unsure before looking to the warlock “your leaving?...” she looked a bit hurt.

Skye bit her lip “yes, but I promise I’ll be back ok, I just have something very important to do ok? And then I’ll be back and maybe we can go somewhere more comfortable”.

The titan looked upset “why does everyone leave...” she whimpered.

Skye pulled her into a careful hug “bear, don’t do that, I promise I’m not leaving for good ok, I’ll be back and I’ll make all of this better ok?”.

“I don’t want to die alone” elsie continued, appreciating the hug.

Skye shook her head “you won’t die alone, I promise, I’ll be right there” she promised “but I have to go until then ok?”. She then very carefully got up and her heart broke as elsie gave her looks of pained betrayal as she carefully let herself out. 

Elsie after a moment, stood unsteadily before following to the door and leaning heavily “come back...” she whimpered. 

Skye fought her every instinct to return to the begging titan, but with difficulty, she took a deep breath “I’ll be back, I promise” she replied before turning and walking away with painful determination. 

Elsie watched her disappear before breaking down into tears and she sunk to her knees painfully “I don’t want to be alone...” she whispered weakly. 

The kell has watched this with interested silence but even he softened at the Titans pain and he shifted to sit up “would friend like company?” He asked in eliksni.

Elsie looked up to him tearfully, looking a bit scared of him “I’m so lonely...” she replied in perfect eliksni.

“Misraaks could stay with you, as long as don’t give reason for me to hurt you” he offered his hand.

The titan looked torn for a long moment “I can’t take you?”.

“No... any attempt... will kill or severely hurt” he promised with a growl “but, will look after titan if she wants company” he nodded. 

The titan flinched with fear at his words before continuing to look torn “would you really stay?... why?”.

Mithrax sighed “have taken liking to... your kind” he nodded before reaching through the door to gently put a large hand on her head “you in particular, very loyal, good friend of misraaks, so for no other reason than I like you, will keep company as long as promise to not give reason to hurt”.

Elsie flinched at the touch before realising how gentle he was and she looked unsure “but you are out there...”.

Mithrax got up in response before picking the titan up with two hands to crawl into the room, he set her down out of the way and settled in a cleaner corner of the room and curled up comfortably before waving her over “come friend needs rest”. 

The titan looked afraid of him but after a moment of deciding after the kell clearly meant no harm, she staggered over carefully and the kell gently grabbed her hands to help her to the ground before pulling her into a firm hug against his chest. Elsie briefly looked as though she was going to freak out but the kell patted her head supportively “let misraaks protect, rest, relax”.

It was a long few minutes as elsie seemed to fight against everything she knew before she finally collapsed into her exhaustion and settled into the kells supportive hold. He wasn’t as nearly full of light as the warlock however his presence was equally as nice and he shifted his cloak to to cover her almost completely. The kell watched over the titan carefully just in case she did try anything but after a while, the titan seemed content just to lay there without complaint do he settled into a nap too despite the dangers. 

They were uninterrupted for quite a while other than elsie occasionally getting up to be sick but for the most part, it was quiet despite the occasional tears and upset from the titan who was struggling with her existence. The news of her condition hadn’t spread very far, this was on purpose so people and eliksni alike didn’t freak out. This became a problem when Anne took on the task of finding the kell who had vanished without telling anyone where he was going. He’d left orders not to find him as well but the hunter had heard rumours and she wanted answers since she couldn’t find Skye either. 

It was easy for her to track where the kell had gone once she found his trail and she found herself walking through the skiff with a sigh. On finding the him, dust let her in and the hunter took a second before looking around at the room in shock. It was filthy with shining pools or taken sludge around the room. Around the kell had become particularly dirty and she shivered fearing that the kell was in danger.

Anne carefully approached the kell and kneeled “hey Mithrax.... you ok?” She asked with concern. 

The kell stirred at the question but not before his charge noticed her and the titan instantly got up looking defensive “get away from him” she growled dangerously in eliksni. As unsteady as she was, her will to kill was clear and she burned with blue fire. 

Anne jumped back with fear “shit... ok.. uh, hi elsie... you uh... I didn’t see you...” she blurted out quickly before looking to the door, she had to go past the titan to reach it.

The kell yawned as he gently grabbed the Titans hands “come friend, she means no harm... calm”. 

The titan looked angry for a moment before it gave way to confusion “I don’t know this person...” she replied.

“Misraaks vouch for her, she is friend” he promised “now, come, sit, stay with misraaks”. The titan looked incredibly torn before finally settling onto the ground weakly once more and the kell convinced her to lay down and relax after a tense few moments, however the Titans gaze came to rest on the hunter. 

The kell then looked to the hunter with a sigh “apologies, fell asleep” he muttered in common “what does friend want, would recommend staying there”.

Anne was in a stunned silence “how long has she been.... when... is she ok? Are you ok?”.

Mithrax nodded “Captain is broken, mind is cracked, doesn’t know who she is, but is lonely, hurts self when alone”. He shifted to look to the titan “friend Skye working on way to fix captain”.

Anne took a second to process the information “won’t she hurt you?”.

Mithrax shook his head “fears misraaks too much, will not, you however, will likely hurt you” he looked to the hunter “perhaps best if friend leaves”.

Anne looked around with shock “is all this from her...”.

“Captain very sick” he nodded. 

“What about her ghost...” Anne asked.

“Safe, but sensitive topic” Mithrax sighed “did you want something?”.

Anne looked torn “a bunch of people were wondering the where you were... you’ve been gone for hours and people seemed worried about you...” she bit her lip “no one could tell me anything but rumours so here I am” she admitted “just checking your good... but I uh... I understand now... can I help?” She offered cluelessly.

“Wouldn’t mind going to be honest... but captain will kill self if left alone” he admitted “Skye seemed to get through to her but friend is likely one of few who could fix, cannot keep her busy”. They were interrupted by elsie crawling free of the kell to cough and throw up more of the black sludge that now tainted the room and she looked incredibly weak, the kell gave her a supportive pat as she started crying quietly.

The hunter stared in quiet horror before taking off her helmet “she’s really sick isn’t she...”.

Mithrax nodded “thinks she will die in a day or two if not sooner” he admitted “captain seems to agree”.

Anne clipped her helmet to her belt before kneeling and tearing up a little, a very rare sight “what can I do? Isn’t there anything?” She asked.

“Could ask Skye, Misraaks simply keeping company, not sure if friend could safely...” he looked to the titan with a sigh.

The hunter gave the titan a long stare before pulling out a coin and biting her lip thoughtfully before getting up and carefully walking over, the titan instantly turned her gaze to the hunter distrustingly and Anne held up the coin before offering it and after looking indecisive, took the coin carefully, turning it over in her hands. The coin had an imprint of a snake on one side and the hunters triangles on the other and as she looked at it, it turned black in her hands and started floating just above her hand. 

The titan seemed confused however she brought her spare hand to her eyes as she started to cry, as if somewhere inside, she did recognise the symbol. She looked to the hunter cluelessly before speaking in eliksni perfectly, her voice echoed with distant voices and sounds. 

Anne looked a bit surprised, elsie didn’t normally know how to speak eliksni that well and Anne didn’t know eliksni herself, leaving that to elsie and Skye mostly “wrong language” she prompted gently. 

Elsie looked confused as if she’d forgotten common and after another slow reaction, tried speaking Russian “who are you?”.

This one, Anne did know, a trait from her previous life and she was a little rusty, but she understood at least. “Comrade, my name Anne, you comrade of mine” she explained “do you remember?”.

The titan gave her another long gaze before looking to the coin “elsie knows you... but no one else trusts you...” she looked unsure “angel glowed brightly... but you... I don’t know if I can trust you...” she admitted.

This confused the hunter a little but she decided to not ask questions and dropped to her knees in front of the titan. Up close, elsie looked dreadful. She was obviously very sick and tired, exhaustion hung off her heavily but that wasn’t the most disturbing part. Black sludge bled from under her hair, staining the white. This black also seemed to replace her tears and it was as if she was bleeding as it clearly leaked from her mouth as well. 

The rest of her armour was now quite filthy despite being in physically great condition and Anne resisted getting upset. It was disturbing to see her best and oldest friend in this condition, she looked as if she wasn’t far away from deaths door. 

“You can trust me” Anne finally replied “I promise, I know I look shady, but i can’t help it, I’m a hunter, it’s my thing” she pulled back her hood before settling on the ground and eyeing Mithrax for a moment before turning her attention back to the titan “would you mind if I stayed with you for a little bit?”.

Elsie looked to Mithrax looking unsure and he gave her a nod “hunter friend” he assured in eliksni “will protect you while misraaks leaves for a little”.

Elsie looked worried and confused at his words “will be back?” She replied with concern. 

He nodded and patted her head gently “yes, would never leave with someone dangerous” he promised before getting up with a heavy sigh. The front of his armour was stained black where elsie had been laying and while it didn’t appear to have gone past his armour, the affect was clear. Elsie would accidentally take him if he was not careful. 

After a brief exchange, the kell left with a appreciative nod to the hunter. And elsie was left alone with the hunter. The affect was almost immediate once mithrax was gone and elsie started looking anxious, pulling on her hair and scratching. Anne quickly understoood that elsie had caused all of her own wounds and she understood why Mithrax had risked staying with her.


	30. How to Light up the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsie needs help but an she get it before it's too late.

The hunter looked thoughtful before trying to strike up a conversation “so, uh, I’m not very good at this usually...” she admitted “usually your the one that pushes me to talk but there’s always a time to start right?” She sighed “what are you thinking about? You look like something is bothering you”.

The titan looked at her with uncertainty “every voice is screaming don’t trust you..” she murmured “I don’t know what to do...” she admitted “elsie says your safe... misraaks says the same... and so far they have not failed me”. 

“What can I do to prove I’m not as scary as I look” anne asked gently.

The titan seemed to think about for a moment before replying “I don’t know...” she admitted “angel and misraaks held me... talked to me...” 

Anne looked thoughtful “if you want cuddles, I can do that, I owe you some” she admitted “or you can join me if you like” a pack of cards appeared in her hands and she started shuffling them.

The titan looked undecided before becoming distracted by the deck of cards “what are you doing?”.

Anne bit her lip before giving a cheeky smile “I could show you some tricks?”.

Elsie instantly looked unsure “I will defend myself...” she warned.

“No, good tricks” Anne assured before offering her deck “pick a card, it’s totally safe”. 

The titan gave her a long look before reluctantly picking a card and she held it up “why?”.

Anne took the card gently “Jack of hearts, fitting” she mused before shuffling it back into the deck “remember that card ok”. The titan nodded, watching on with interest and after a moment, the hunter threw the deck up and they all turned into smoke but one and Anne caught it before turning it to face the titan “is that your card?”.

The titan shook her head with a small smile “no, it’s the queen”.

“Huh, Your sure about that?” Why don’t you take a closer look” she turned it around and handed it over, on the back sat the jack of hearts.

Elsie took it with shock and after turning the card over again, the queen was now gone, she smiled properly this time “what? I know you used light but how?!” She crossed her arms “that’s cheeky”.

Anne winked playfully “me? I’m not up to anything at all” she teased. Elsie was now well and truly busy enough to keep her from scratching so Anne was pleased.

The titan flicked the card back playfully “bullshit” she replied “what else do you have?”.

“Show you all my tricks? Not sure if I can do that” Anne mused “but, try this one on”. A large knife appeared in her hands and she held it between both hands “do you think I can make this one knife turn into two?” She asked.

Elsie looked thoughtful “there’s ways... but you have me intrigued” she watched the hunter with interest. 

Anne smiled and spun the knife in her fingers. dark purple surrounded the blade and after a moment, the hunter pulled the purple away from the knife, making two of them. One was made of solid glowing purple light and she opened her palm making the blade float on her hand. Elsie clapped looking smug “that’s easy, I can do that” she mused. 

Anne caught her knife playfully “you can do that? Go on then” she challenged. 

Elsie outstretched her arm before clutching her fist and smooth dark energy swarmed around her fist before becoming a dark mist shield that Anne recognised to be her defender shield. The hunter looked shocked as the titan set it in the ground in front of her looking cheeky “easy” she shrugged, leaning on it.

Anne took a second to respond “touché... that’s a really cool looking shield...” she muttered, staring at it with interest.

“That’s not even all I can do” elsie bragged playfully. 

Anne looked torn for a second before crossed her arms “ok show off, go on then” she nodded.

Elsie chuckled and the shield faded as she punched her palm, black lightning cracked around her dangerously and she loosened up and let the energy go before she gave a sly shrug and her hammer of sol appeared in her hands before bursting into black flame, she pointed it at the hunter “are you surprised?”.

The hunter was stunned, she’d of course seen elsie use all these powers before but she knew them as light. The fact she was using the darkness for a similar affect was mildly terrifying. “A little, not gonna lie, but I really shouldn’t be... you are scary, you know that?” Anne mused “you win” she smiled.

The titan let the flame go out before putting the hammer down, head first on the floor in front of her. The same black sludge oozed from the head, pooling around it grossly. Elsie laughed confidently “so what about you, I’ve decided I like you” she admitted “what’s your deal?”.

"Me? I’m a scout mostly, I can kick an ass or two but I prefer the sneaky stuff, I usually leave the fighting to others” she admitted “or just bring you” she shrugged “it’s easy to just point you in the right direction and you have your fun” she smiled.

“Oh, so your lazy?” Elsie teased.

"Hah, not on your life” Anne mused “I just do the tracking, the actual hard bit” she chuckled. 

Elsie was almost acting normal to a degree despite her darkened nature and it helped Anne feel slightly more comfortable around her not to mention make the titan look mildly better. 

Elsie looked thoughtfully at the hunter “well it’s a shame I don’t want to leave this room, it’s sounds like you’d be fun to stay with” she admitted “that and for some reason they want me kept here...” she looked distant before looking cheeky “you wouldn’t let me out would you?”.

Anne sighed “sorry, I’m not about to get killed by the kell, not even for you” she put her hands up “but I will keep you company, I like you” she mused. 

The titan sighed “shame... I wanted to find the angel” she admitted.

“By angel, do you happen to be talking about a warlock?” Anne asked.

“Yeah... I am not sure of her name... if she said it, I can’t remember... but she said angel and she glows like one...” elsie sighed “I miss her... I hope she comes back again before I die” she bit her lip.

“Woah, before you die?” Anne repeated.

Elsie nodded “this body won’t last” she looked to the hunter “only sparks can fix it... and no one will give her too me... sparks abandoned me...” anger flickered through her features “but I suppose I can settle with death as long as I’m not alone” she absentmindedly started fiddling indicating she was getting anxious again.

“That’s a depressing topic...” Anne admitted “how about we do something else, you wanna play cards?”.

Elsie looked thoughtfully “I don’t remember how?”.

“I’ll teach you” Anne smiled and her cards appeared in her hands once more, she moved into explaining a simple game to keep the titan busy once more. 

They’d been playing for a good half hour, trading playful banter as Anne gently asked about what kinda things she knew and how she felt. The game was suddenly interrupted as the titan looked sick and she shifted to move away a bit before throwing up painfully. She had begun to shake looking very unstable and for a moment, Anne pondered of the titan trustee her enough but after a thought, she didn’t care and discarded her cards to carefully approach and pat the Titans back supportively. 

The titan flinched briefly before relaxing slightly and Anne sat down gently “you look like you need a hug” Anne mused gently.

Elsie looked at her with fresh black tears, looking incredibly pained “I want this to be over” she whimpered.

Anne carefully pulled the titan into a hug “it will be soon” she assured “your angel won’t rest until it’s over” she promised. 

The titan seemed reluctant for a moment before collapsing in the hunters lap although this didn’t bother the hunter who shifted so the titan could lay down comfortably and that’s where Mithrax found them when he returned beside a determined looking Skye. They both seemed mildly surprised to see elsie resting comfortably where she was and Anne gave them a nod. Elsie didn’t notice them right away, not until they let themselves into the room, being careful of the mess.

Elsie reaction has been becoming noticing you slower, and it showed as she didn’t react until they were half way into the room. She flinched looking scared before remembering that she recognised them and she sat up sluggishly, looking hopefully to Skye. “my angel...” she murmured with exhaustion.

Skye kneeled down beside her gently “hey bear... you feeling ok?” She asked with concern.

Elsie shook her head and offered her hand “I missed you... but I’m so tired...” she sighed. Her bleeding was getting noticibly worse, instead of the trickle of blood from her mouth, it was much thicker and heavier. Just to speak, she had to get rid of a bloody build up in her mouth and her tears were getting thicker. Her head was still bleeding but it seemed like the blood was starting to clump up as she bled, She looked filthy but exhausted. 

Skye teared up and brought a hand to her cheek “it’s ok bear, I’ll fix it, I promise” she looked to Anne with appreciation “thanks for staying with her”.

The hunter now looked quite dirty because of spending her time with elsie but she didn’t care “there’s no way I could leave her like this” she assured looking guilty “I just wish I could help”.

“I think you can, we need to get her out of here” Skye replied “I’ve figured it out but this needs to happen now”.

Elsie looked confused “what’s wrong?...”.

“Nothing” Skye assured, gently pressing a kiss her her forehead “do you want to come for a walk with me?”.

Elsie immediately looked uncertain “to where... I’m tired” she murmured “I don’t really want to go anywhere...” she admitted.

Skye looked thoughtful “what if we carried you? Would you want to come then?” She asked gently “we want to put you somewhere more comfortable, that’s all”.

Anne leaned over “it could be nice, the floor kinda sucks, not to mention you can stay with your angel” she shrugged “what’s the worst that could happen, either way, you won’t be lonely...”.

The titan looked torn before finally nodding “ok... but it’s safe right?” She asked with fear “it’s hard to fight...”.

Anne pulled out a knife “tell you what, if anyone or thing that you don’t like comes near, I’ll kill them for you, promise”.

The titan searched the hunter before nodding “ok...”. She finally staggered to her feet with a pained whimper and Skye moved into support her gently. 

The kell then moved over to gently sweep her off her feet and he held her to his chest “rest friend, it won’t be long”.

There was an air of subtle anxiety as the door cane down for the first time and all eyes were on the titan to see how she would react. It was subtle, but she looked outside looking distant as if she could see beyond the skiff, she didn’t make any move though and the kell crawled through the skiff carefully before dropping down into the hangar followed by elsies fireteam. 

It was here that elsie started to look worried and looked around. “This place seems familiar...” she whispered with fear “it’s full of fallen... they will kill me”.

Mithrax pauses to pat her head gently “friend safe, kell protects friend from eliksni” he promised.

Elsie didn’t seem convinced and looked irritable and after a moment fought the kell “guardians... there’s so many of them..” she looked terrified “I have to go...” she whimpered “I didn’t know there where so many of them... they will kill me”.

The kell struggled for a second but wit his spare two hands, caught her wrists and crouched “captain must trust Mithrax... will not allow anything to happen to friend... your friends protect you too”.

Elsie found herself trapped in the kells grip and found herself unable to even use her hands to free herself. Perhaps she could have if she wasn’t in such a weakened state but she was trapped. Skye walked over quickly “hey, bear, it’s ok, shh, we won’t let anyone get you” she promised, gently holding the Titans gaze “just focus on us ok, nothing else is important”.

It took a moment to get the titan to calm down enough that she didn’t want to fight the kell off but she was still clearly worried and as Skye reluctantly let her go, she watched the area around her with sharp fear as the kell finally kept walking. They managed to almost reach the room when elsie suddenly had a look of realisation and she let out a loud screech, shocking her party enough to take advantage of the kells weakened hold. she forced herself out of his grip to land with a painful stumble before teleporting a bit down the hall looking murderous “I remember this place... your putting me in confinement”.

“Bear, please, you don’t understand, it’s the safe-“ Skye tried argue before being cut off.

“No!” She screamed “I won’t let you forget me again... they were right!” She hissed before turning and black mist surrounded her before she stepped into it and vanished, leaving the three in shock.

Skye was stuck into silence for a moment “she’s never been here before though...” she looked confused “how can she possibly remember?”.

Anne shook herself and stepped forward “dust, lead me” she ordered with worry “do what you can”. After a moment, Anne took off in a sprint “she’s moving fast, keep up!” She called out.

Despite looking confused, the kell followed “was not expecting such sudden reaction” he admitted with a shadow of guilt “will help capture, how can help?”.

“Gather the eliksni, keep them together, elsie shouldn’t attack if there is too many of them... hopefully” Skye muttered.

The kell nodded and stood before letting out a loud call that echoed around the ship and distant screams echoed back in return as movement sounded throughout the ship. The kell replied before getting to all sixes “get on back, I am quicker”. Anne hesitate for a second before jumping on followed by Skye and dust they moved on quickly. Elsies trail was hard to follow but as they weaves their way through the ship, they finally lost the trail in the throne room. Large groups of eliksni stood in the middle of exit points to hopefully keep the rampant titan in the ketch without risking their lives. 

The group came to a defeated stop until loud cries echoed from deeper into the ship and the kell was off again, reaching the source within moments. Elsie had reappeared and she looked exhausted, looking terrified as she found herself trapped in a room facing a large group of eliksni. Seeing the kell surface, she put out her arms with a show of force and a dark smoky bubble surrounded her. Despite her weakness, the bubble clearly helped a little as she straightened up and looked defensive, ready to fight.

Anne and Skye got off the kell and the hunter subtly armed up as she approached slowly “elsie, please... you’re on deaths door, let us help you, we can make it better” she promised.

“Come near me and I will end you” elsie growled with hatred, blue fire bursting around her form. 

“Please bear” Skye begged tearing up, she looked like she wanted to approach but stayed put not wanting to push the titan over the edge.

“I won’t let you kill me without a fight” she hissed before breaking into a heavy cough, collapsing and clutching her chest painfully, instantly brought down by her weakened body. More bloody vomit followed and it was clear the titan was starting to lose the fight as she tried but failed to stand once more, struggling to breathe.

Anne looked torn before taking a deep breath and walking into the bubble with determination ”come on, we don't want to hurt you... Your dying...”. She ignored the draining effect of the darkened bubble. 

The titan let out a piercing shriek before holding out a glowing hand ”leave me alone to die in peace” she spat, her fury starting to subside into desperation.

The hunter shook her head before moving into a shadestep to get behind the titan and she quickly forced the Titans arms behind her before trying her arms together with the cloak on her shoulders, elsie reacted too slowly to fight her looking pained and the hunter pulled out her hand cannon and put out to the Titans head ”im sorry I have to do this... You can beat me up later” she promised “if you move without my permission, I will shoot”. Her hand cannon clicked ominously before she pulled the titan to her feet unsteadily and pushed her out of the bubble.

The watching on lookers looked on with a mix of shock and horror but as the hunter left the bubble, it was clear how dark patches had started to spread over her armour, her cloak in particular was half darkened with her hands and fingers feeling like pins and needles. The titan seemed equally as shocked by the turn of the hunter and with the hunters forced help, staggered back out of the shelter of darkness, she could barely stand though. 

Skye looked horrified in particular “what are you doing Anne?!” She gasped before moving over to help support the now captured titan.

“Forcing my hand” Anne muttered “we are saving her stupid god damned life, regardless of her temper tantrum”. She looked to the kell “can you carry her? I’ll keep her under control this time”. Her hand cannon stayed trained on the Titans head. 

The kell nodded with a sigh “friend is quite fearsome” he chuckled “would turn on own weakened friend...” he effortlessly crawled over to pick up the captured titan and the hunter effortlessly jumped up to the kells shoulder so she could keep casually threatening the titan with her hand cannon.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to her later, it’s not like I haven’t broken the rules before” she sighed “I’m going to borrow your shoulders for a second though, I’m not risking you getting hurt”.

The kell chuckled “I suppose that’s fine” he looked to the eliksni and let out a low growling order and they reluctantly retreated before kell moved into a quick walk. Skye followed as they returned the way they had come. 

Elsie looked utterly terrified but with the addition of the hunter who made it clear she meant what she said, the titan was too weak and afraid to bother fighting the kell again. She broke in desperate tears though, muttering indistinguishable complaints under her breath. With the kells pace and size, they reached confinement after a few minutes and the titan became even more irritable that she already was. The hunter jumped down before turning her hand cannon back to the titan “you should be right to put her down, I’ve got her” Anne promised before looking around “sparks?!”.

The kell looked reluctant but did as he was told despite the titan instantly looking around for her missing ghost, she didn’t get the chance to even consider going anywhere before the hunter gripped her cloak and pressed her weapon to her neck. Sparks however appeared looking irritable “where the hell have you guys been?”.

“Later, are you ready to go?” Anne replied just as irritably.

On seeing the ghost, the titan stopped, looking at the ghost with desperate longing before putting the last of her effort into an attempt to break free, Anne smoothly thrust the handle into the back of her head before stabbing in the back of her knee, shutting her down instantly and the hunter dragged her the rest of the short way to her cell before freeing her and escaping the cell smoothly. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Sparks asked with a shriek “you will kill her”. 

Anne put her hand cannon away with a guilty sigh “I’m not that stupid, but I’m also not letting her get away again” she looked to the ghost darkly “fix this now, we don’t have time”.

Elsie with her fresh wound could no longer stand but tried, simply collapsing before crawling to the door in a desperate bid to escape “help... help me” she whimpered “I don’t want to die...”. She gave the ghost a begging look “sparks.. please” she whispered.

the ghost nodded but was stopped briefly by the Titans begging, looking guilty. She then disappeared into the computer systems to start the process. A large box was now plugged into the door controls and much like the skiff, the door was a solid blue force field. The box begun to hum as various alights blinked to life. Skye moved to sit on the floor in front of the cell and put her hands on the door “it won’t be long bear, I promise”.

The air was filled with a painfully guilty air of anticipation and they could barely watch as the inside of the cell started to glow. The titan has looked to the warlock with desperation before being completely sidetracked by the light. She became entranced for a moment, raising a hand before giggling weakly, her happiness was brief however as it turned into discomfort. The titan started to squirm painfully letting out loud whimpers that turned to pained cries and screeches, accompanied by more desperate attempts to get free. The sight made the observers sick as elsie was clearly in more pain than she was to begin with as light started eating into her armour, replacing the darkness slowly. 

It was a long moment of struggle before the titans movement slowed and she begun to look as though she would pass out as the light started to overpower the darkness. It was a solid few minutes before the struggle stopped completely as elsie returned to her light walking self and she was silenced looking distant and faint. The door opened as soon as she was cleared and the titan immediately collapsed on the waiting warlock, the leaking black sludge turned into active blood loss instead.

Skye clutched her gently and held her close. “Thank the traveller...” she whimpered “bear? Are you there?”. The titan blinked weakly, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something but nothing came out before she fell unconscious. 

Sparks appeared quickly to start scanning the titan thoroughly and after a moment, Elsie’s ragged breathing, became a little easier in the warlocks arms. It was a few minutes of tense silence before the titan came to with a painful whimper and sparks lowered to speak to her with guilt “I’m sorry... I didn’t want to risk you dying until I was sure all the darkness was gone”.

The titan was slow to respond. “it’s ok...” she finally whispered weakly before giving her a small smile “but too bad of you wanted me to move any time soon...” she joked.

Skye let out a sigh “you can’t take anything seriously can you...” she muttered looking grateful.

The titan took another moment to respond “you’re here... what’s there to worry about” she sighed with content exhaustion.

Skye cuddles her gently and pressed a loving kiss to her head “I’m glad your back” she smiled “I missed you”.

“Your gonna need to fill me in...” elsie admitted before closing her eyes “later though” she muttered “I’m tired...”.

“Of course” Skye nodded “we will get you to bed” she promised.

The kell had crept over quietly “is captain back to normal?” He asked.

The titan opened her eyes to look vaguely towards the kell “right... Mithrax... shit, are you ok?” She went to move before immediately whimpering with pain and regretting the action “I forgot... the taken...”.

The kell settled and put a hand on her chest gently “rest, misraaks fine” he assured “you my friend however... was worrying to see captain in such a state... so determined to live and die all at once” he chuckled.

the titan looked a bit confused but the pain had caused dirty tears to streak down her cheeks, she managed to look relieved though “I’m glad” she muttered weakly “I remember being vaguely worried for a second...” she sighed.

"Misraaks could not save captain” he looked a little guilty “but managed to kill your new friend before it turned you against me” but looked thoughtful “allow me to put you somewhere more comfortable”.

Elsie nodded “give me a second...” she replied, steeling herself briefly through tired pain filled haze “ok”.

Skye gave her a supportive cuddle before the kell shifted to top her and he gently used all four of his arms to pick her up as delicately as possible. It was impossible not to cause the titan more pain though and she let out pained gasps as she was lifted to the kells chest and held there gently. Skye got up to follow as the kell started walking with care back towards the main area of the ketch and the titan passed out after a short period, overwhelmed with pain.

The kell left elsie in the kells quarters so they wouldn’t be bothered and while elsie was sleeping, Skye and the ghosts took the opportunity to look at what the effect of being taken was. They were horrified to discover almost every part of her was affected, it was like acid burns all through her body and while sparks had fixed the major injuries like her important organs, she stated that elsie was very lucky to even be alive. It took a day or so for elsie to stir but she found herself throwing up a bloody mess if she tried to do too much so she simply slept uneasily for the most part. Despite how messy the titan was, it was just too hard to move her for a week or so. 

Skye barely left the Titans side and the kell would come and visit, taking that chance to rest himself or chat, but Anne was nowhere to be seen until a week and a half later when she finally found her way to the kells quarters. She found Skye settled beside the sleeping titan with a book in her lap, reading in silence. 

Anne approached in silence and peeked over the warlocks shoulder. “understanding the whispers... interesting” she mused making the warlock jump in surprise, cursing under her breath.

“Anne, a pleasure as always” she scowled and closed her book, turning to face her “and here I thought you’d turned into a shadow and left” she sighed “where have you been?”.

Anne bit her lip and pulled out a knife to start playing with it between her fingers “unfortunalty, I don’t get paid for looking after my lover, work calls, and the system whispers my name” she sighed “I also assumed that you wouldn’t want to see me” she shrugged before eyeing the warlock.

The warlock gave her a long stare before biting her lip “I don’t hate you... I just hate that your tactics worked because it felt cruel... but I don’t hate you... I owe you thanks for helping, even if like usual, your actions are questionable sometimes”. She offered the hunter a hug “how are you?”.

The hunter returned the gesture before straightening up “well other than feeling guilty as all hell, great...” she sighed and eyed the titan “how is she?”.

“Getting better” Skye smiled “i give it a few days before she will be up and looking for you” she admitted “after hearing about everything she wanted to talk to you”.

Anne smiled “I bet, well today is her lucky day I suppose”.

“She finally graces me with her presence...” elsie muttered sleepily “god you two are loud” she teased with a yawn. She laid on her back turned to look at the two lazily “to what do I owe the honour” she smiled. 

Anne looked at the titan with amusement “Well I supposed that I should probably let you give me a lecture since I bullied you pretty hard”.

Elsie chuckled “as much as the temptation sounds fun, I think I should thank you instead” she admitted before tenderly holding up her hand “I owe you one” she smiled.

The hunter took it gently and shook “anytime, I can’t pay you back if your dead you know” she mused “you know your stubbornness is impressive”.

Elsie smiled “I heard I caused all sorts of mischief”.

“Admittedly, I only saw half of it, but I’d agree...“ she looked thoughtful “and I thought Mithrax was a scary guard dog until you crawled out of his shadow to growl at me” she smiled.

Elsie sighed before shifting with a quiet groan to sit up, taking a second to pant with pain but after a moment, she settled with a nod “now, Skye was mad at you... and Mithrax was surprised that you threatened to kill me knowing I was so close to my final death” she looked to the hunter before giving a playful smile “I think Mithrax has even more respect for you now, but I am curious, all I know is that you had a gun pressed to my head and forced me to behave, care to spill?” She asked.

Anne bit her lip looking awkward “sure but promise your not going to beat me up until your feeling perfect again”

“Deal” elsie agreed playfully “do tell” she mused.

Anne looked thoughtful “now don’t take this the wrong way, but you were incredibly easy to manipulate, easy as ever to entertain, if not more so and competitive as ever, all things that I know how to manipulate when your normal” she shrugged “I managed to get you to show me your shield, your hammer and arc peacefully after getting you to trust me” she mused.

Skye looked confused “what? Since when? You didn’t tell me about that?!”.

Anne gave a coy smile “i didn’t get a chance before missy here decided to lose her mind, would you like the recording later?”.

Skye hesitated, fighting with herself “I mean... yes” she muttered “of course... but later... I guess...” she crossed her arms “when your finished talking”.

Elsie put a hand on her head gently “go on, send it to her, it’s not the first time she has treated me like an experiment” she mused. Anne nodded and Skye blushed deeply before taking out her tablet to look at the new information, her expression changing to interested awe. Elsie then prompted the hunter to continue with amusement. 

Anne looked thoughtful “well you might have heard this next part, but besides a few card tricks, light tricks and shenanigans to keep you busy so you didn’t hurt yourself... we finally were ready to bring you back to the light, which in theory was easy” she smiled “but of course it wasn’t, you out of nowhere decide that you remember this place and know exactly where we were going, freaking out sufficiently and escaping to god knows where”. Anne sighed “this is kinda where I knew I was about to potentially be the bad guy, usually the only real way to talk you out of something is to beat it into you, and you were already on deaths door” she rolled her eyes “at least you knew it, so I had that advantage and I knew, besides Mithrax who would likely straight up have you killed. Skye probably wouldn’t have the heart to be tough on you”. 

She bit her lip “well eventually we found you, dying in front of us and you put up a last effort to try and fight us off to ‘die peacefully’... and you just collapsed after you popped your bubble, I knew it was over regardless of what we did if we didn’t do something tough” she looked to the titan “so I walked into your bubble and pressed my hand cannon to your head, arming it so you could see I meant business”. She looked thoughtful “sone part of you must have known I wasn’t bluffing because you instantly gave in and I dragged you at gunpoint out of the bubble and back to Mithrax after tying you up”.

Elsie looked thoughtful “I’m not really all that surprised” she admitted.

“I didn’t think you would be” Anne replied “I kept you in your place until we finally got to where we were going and there was only one more hitch, sparks appeared and you weren’t quite broken enough to not try and take her” she sighed “so before you could even try, I hit you hard on the head and stabbed your knee to shut you down so I could force you into captivity again”.

“Ah, so your at fault for those particular wounds...” elsie mused.

Anne nodded “it was the most I could do without killing you, which despite what it looked like, I did not want to do, but force is the only thing that works for you” she sighed “and no one else knew how to do it and not kill you, not to mention avoid getting taken”. She looked to skye “and no offence, but you care too much”. Skye bit her lip but didn’t respond.

Elsie thought about it for a moment “well thanks, I’m glad someone was there to shut me down, I clearly wasn’t in control of myself so I’m glad someone was” she admitted. 

Anne nodded “I’m glad your back... your tiring to babysit” she teased.

“I’m glad to see you too” elsie chuckled “my favourite shady friend”. She looked thoughtful “so why did you take so long to come give poor old me a visit?”.

“Other than the fact I assumed that Skye in particular probably disliked me immensely, I was working” she shrugged “just because your down, doesn’t mean I’m not getting paid... not to mention you were probably going to be sleeping and I couldn’t talk to you anyway” she sighed “there was no point worrying about you... Skye was doing plenty of that for me”.

“As cold as ever” elsie teased.

“You know me” Anne chuckled.

Skye looked up at the two with a sigh “have I ever mentioned how weird your friendship is? I appreciate you gave each other but... it’s just weird...” she admitted before leaning over to press a kiss against the titan cheek “I’ll be back ok, you move from this bed and I will chain you to it” she threatened happily before getting up and walking out quickly. 

The two watched her go with amusement before the titan sighed “she might not be able to hurt me... but torture... that’s something she can do” elsie sighed “and she doesn’t even need to hurt me”.

Anne smiled “the things you do for love right?”.

“Exactly” elsie agreed “I don’t think she’s finished her observations and I was crying dark blood the other day so I guess she just wants to be careful... it would be kind of inconvenient if I went all murdery again I suppose”.

Anne bit her lip “so how are you? Without all the fluff”.

Elsie sighed “it’s been rough... apparently being taken is not nice on your insides... think acid eating away at you for a prolonged period... they figured out that’s what was killing me, I was coughing up my own poisoned blood” she bit her lip “the first few days were hellish, I could barely move... if I did, I made myself sick and that was a pleasant mix of blood and what was left of the poison, it wasn’t pretty”.

Anne cringed a little “I don’t envy you... your doing better now though?”.

Elsie nodded “yeah, I’m just bruised to hell mostly now... I can walk again, not that I’m allowed too” she looked thoughtful before looking at the hunter “take my word for it, it’s not worth the power you get” she smiled.

The hunter chuckled in response “I believe you”. She then pulled out a deck of cards “you aren’t to beat up for a game of cards are you?”.

Elsie smiled “of course not, bring it on” she challenged playfully “beats doing nothing”.

“I thought you might say that” Anne mused as she dealt out the cards. “You know, I had to teach you how to play blackjack again” she continued.

“Huh, I guess you do forget everything, it’s hard to forget something that simple” elsie smiled “how did you get me playing cards? In my understanding I didn’t really want to do much”.

Anne nodded “well, you were super defensive, but once I eventually convinced you I wasn’t as sketchy as I looked, I blew your mind with a few tricks and you blew mine with some of yours... you were quite scary when you casually pulled out a dark shield and hammer out of nowhere” she admitted “so I chose to entertain you with a less... dangerous... option”.

Elsie laughed “that’s fair”.

“It was pretty easy too” Anne teased “all I had to do was challenge you and you took the bait”.

“I’m as simple as they come apparently” elsie replied “why was it so important you keep me busy?” She asked with interest “everyone I’ve spoken too insisted they had trouble keeping me busy or calm”.

Anne sighed “well, I assume you had something going on, I don’t know, you talked about voices or something... I think you were one of them to be honest, you talked about this voice called elsie who said I could be trusted or something” she bit her lip “but otherwise, you tended to hurt yourself when left alone, you probably don’t remember but those head wounds, other than the extra bruise I gave you, they were all you”.

Elsie looked surprised “huh... weird... so how’d I do it?” She asked.

“Hurt yourself?” Anne repeated questioningly.

“Yeah” elsie nodded.

Anne looked thoughtful “well, I found you when you looked really bad... I didn’t see much but I noticed when you got anxious or started thinking too much, you’d start to scratch and and pull at your hair, particularly near your ears” she nodded “I assume you just scratched yourself raw”.

The titan looked thoughtful “well that explains some missing hair I guess... and all of that...” she frowned.

“Is that why you look like your balding?” Anne teased playfully.

The titan gave her a look before punching her shoulder with a flinch. “You are a piece of work” elsie muttered.

Anne smiled “you love me though”.

Elsie rolled her eyes “love is a strong word, I like you” she smiled. 

“Once upon a time I swear you did” she chuckled. 

Elsie sighed “hey, I’d still fuck you stupid, don’t get me wrong” she chuckled “I practice restraint, but you are always a pleasure to look at” she smiled. 

“I’ll take the compliment” Anne smiled.

Elsie put down her cards, taking the round successfully “you by chance wouldn’t do me a favour would you?” She mused.

“Depends on the favour” the hunter replied looking amused.  
  
"can you keep me out of trouble next time, this shit hurts" she muttered with defeat.  
  
Anne laughed out loud and waved the titan off, "please, i couldnt do it if i tried" she replied.  
  
"it was worth a try" elsie sighed.  
  
anne gave her a coy smile, "i can promise to help pick you up again?" she offered.

"i can accept that" elsie nodded with her own smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story doesnt really feel finished but this is all i have written so far, i like where this story ends and at some point i do want to update/rewrite/fix this story, i do feel like the story is interesting enough though so if you get this far, let me know what you thought.


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